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Less orders, less jobs, lower salaries for garment and textile workers
The number of orders for the first quarter of 2012 is anticipated to decrease by 10-15 percent, which threatens the existence of garment and footwear companies and jobs of laborers.
The year 2011 witnesses a prosperous period of garment and footwear companies. In the first 11 months of the year, garment export turnover reached 13 billion dollars, an increase of 31 percent over the same period of 2010. Meanwhile, Vietnam expects to obtain 6 billion dollars worth of footwear exports in 2011.
However, garment and footwear producers have been warned that they would meet big difficulties in 2012 due to the fluctuations on the international market, the risks in the financial and monetary policies and the changes in the policies to be applied by import countries.
Experts have warned that the bad economic situation in the US and the EU, where people have to fasten their belt, would lead to the sharp falls in the numbers of orders. The number of orders from the market is thought to decrease by 10-15 percent.
Truong Thi Thuy Lien, Director of the Lien Phat Footwear Company, said on Dau tu that the Euro depreciation, the public debt crisis in the EU’s countries have made it more difficult to export to the EU.
According to Lien, the number of orders for big companies would decrease by 10-15 percent, while the decreases would be 30 percent for small ones.
The Hai Phong City-based Dinh Vang Company has expressed its worry that once the number of orders decreases, it may not have enough jobs for 12,000 workers. Dao Xuan Long, Assistant to the General Director, said that the decrease in the number of orders will mean the stiffer competition, and exporters will have to compete to obtain orders by offering lower export prices.
In fact, the difficulties of the garment and footwear industries can be seen right now. In the third quarter of 2011, hundreds of workers of Baxter Brenton Garment Company, a 100 percent Thai owned business in HCM City, lost their jobs,. Meanwhile, the business’ owner did not pay allowances and support to fulfill necessary procedures, so that workers can enjoy unemployment compensation.
After a period of taking loss, the business has to shut down. However, the Thai business owner has left for Thailand, leaving the unpaid debt of 280 million dong in social insurance.
Meanwhile, 200 workers of the South Korean invested Miso Vina company, have lost their jobs since the third quarter of 2011, while they still have not got the pay for 1.5 months.
The higher input costs, unprofitable business have forced a lot of small companies in the garment and footwear industries to shut down their business. As a result, hundreds of workers have become unemployed.
When Saigon Tiep Thi’s reporters tried to contact Nguyen, director of a garment company in HCM City, she said on the phone that she was on the way to borrow money to pay to workers. She complained that she contacted all the banks she could, and she failed to borrow money. Her company has products sold at supermarkets, but she would only get paid after Tet. Meanwhile, she needs money to pay salaries to workers right now.
Meanwhile, Vu Duc Giang, Chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Vinatas, has warned that garment companies would continue lacking capital in 2012. He said that even if the lending interest rates go down, the current situation would not be improved, because not many businesses would be able to access the bank loans.
vietnamnet
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