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Unhappy workers are striking for a reason
In the first six months of the year, some 400 industrial strikes were reported nation-wide. Mai Duc Chinh, vice-chairman of the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) spoke to Tin Tuc (News) newspaper about the issue.
Which industries had the most strikes and what were the reasons behind them?
Most of the strikes took place at joint venture enterprises (75 per cent of them), particularly those of Taiwan and South Korea.
One of several reasons leading to the strikes was that trade unions in the enterprises were not able to protect the interest of the workers.
Workers going on strike often protest against low wages, poor quality food and bad social-welfare.
Some people may ask the question why there are two garment/shoes enterprises next to each other – one is a 100 per cent Vietnamese while the other is a joint venture, but the strike only took place at the joint venture enterprise. The key reason is the income!
In fact, the minimum wage at the joint ventured enterprise is higher than that of the Vietnamese one. But across the board, the total income of a worker in the latter is about VND2 million ($130) per month while that of a worker in the former is VND1.1-1.2 million ($65-70). That’s the key reason leading to disputes.
Can you further elaborate on the workers’ salary system applied in joint venture enterprises?
It varies between industries and locations. But workers working in the garment, wood processing and leather shoe industries receive the lowest salaries of all.
For example in HCM City, on average, the salary of a worker in these industries is VND1.1-1.2 million per month.
Workers in neighbouring provinces like Long An, Tay Ninh and Binh Duong receive a salary of only VND900,000 a month ($55).
The enterprises calculate their worker’s wages by adding VND50,000-100,000 to the minimum wage. In the current economic climate, how are workers meant to survive, particularly those who have to pay for accommodation?
So what are the lessons learned for both the workers and employers through such strikes?
In my opinion, first for the workers, they should not have gone on strike as a means to force employers to meet their demands. Strikes don’t create a happy working environment. All they lead to is low productivity and low quality products.
For the employers, they should not simply think of the workers’ interests when a strike happens. In the present context, it is better for the enterprise to share profits with the workers. This is a good lesson for enterprises that have experienced several strikes.
At the end of the day, the employer still has to raise workers’ salaries, pay them for time they spent on strike, as well as cover production losses due to the strike.
So in your opinion what do the employers need to do to avoid strikes?
As I’ve just mentioned, some enterprises pay the workers’ salary in line with the law but not in line with economic reality. Such salary don’t reflect the efforts made by the workers. Furthermore, when a salary fails to cover the minimum cost of living, the workers have no choice but to leave or go on strike.
From our - the VGCL - viewpoint, we have stated clearly that the enterprise’s trade union holds an important role in improving workers’ living conditions and protecting their rights. This is a good way to improve the productivity and efficiency of the enterprise as well as quality of the products.
In executing Instruction 22 of the Party Central Committee, the Government will soon adopt a preferential policy for the construction of accommodation for workers in industrial parks with the hope of improving workers’ lives.
In addition, if the employers are willing to share their profits with the workers to help them survive this time of high inflation, the number of strikes will no doubt be reduced.
VNS
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