Recently, according to Vietnamese media reports:
“We spent a lot of effort and money recruiting workers and now we have to accept they’re leaving,” Mr Shipp said. With factories unable to sign new orders and production not expected to resume until the middle of next year, workers are impatient.
As the Binh Duong Federation of Labor pointed out, from the second quarter to now, more than 330 manufacturing companies in the region have faced difficulties and had to lay off employees, suspend contracts, and give workers unpaid leave. The total number of employees affected exceeds 41,000. In addition, many factories also allow workers to take annual leave, reduce the number of working weeks in a week, temporarily stop working but still pay basic wages…
Mr. Dang Tan Dat, deputy director of the Legal Policy Department (Binh Duong Labor Federation), said that various industries such as wood, textiles, footwear, and electronics exporting to European and American markets are facing many problems and difficulties. The common situation in factories is that orders have been reduced by 30-50%, new orders cannot be signed, finished products cannot be exported, and funds are slowly withdrawn… For workers, when their jobs are reduced, many people choose to repatriate to reduce expenses because “4- The basic salary of 5 million dong is difficult to maintain.”
Orders reduced by 50%
Some workers returned to their old jobs
Factory orders dropped by 50%. 40-year-old Huang Wenquan quit his job and took his children to Ca Mau. He left his hometown for nearly 20 years and returned to the maritime industry.
Mr Toan was one of more than 800 employees at Hoang Thong Wood Company who resigned due to reduced working hours at the factory.
Mr Toan and his wife Ms Nguyen Thi Ngan, 38, are both employees of Hoang Thong Wood Company Limited (Dean City). Starting in May, the factory began to reduce orders and has only maintained half of its production capacity. There are few positions, and the company does not organize overtime and arranges workers to wait for work.
Ms. Yan stayed to work in the factory, while her husband and children returned to their hometown.
Although the factory retained allowances and basic wages, due to no overtime work, Mr. Toan and his wife’s total income was nearly VND 7 million less than before. “If we continue to stay, the whole family will be in difficulty. Let’s split up and see where we can stay,” Mr Toan said.
Recently, the male worker returned to his hometown to join the marine industry, and his 4-year-old son was sent to a kindergarten near his home at half the previous fee. Although she only has VND6 million a month, Ms. Ngan tries to stay at the factory to maintain a source of income for her family. If the company’s orders continue to drop, families will have to be repatriated. “In the countryside, you don’t have to pay rent, and if you’re hungry, you still have vegetables to eat,” Toan said.
Workers return home in large numbers
The bustling mansion is empty
Many rooms in Hung Loi 2 dormitory had to be closed because workers lost their jobs and returned to their hometowns
Nearly two months ago, Hong Lai Mansion 2 (Tan Uyen town) with more than 1,300 rooms was no longer as bustling as it was at the beginning of the year as workers returned home one by one. Apartment manager Mr. Nguyen Van Hung said that there were more than 4,000 tenants at the peak, but now less than 2,000 people are staying, and more than half of the rooms are vacant.
In the past few days, many workers have checked out without making an appointment. With no buyers, many of the people renting kiosks at the sales offices also paid for the space.
Mr. Hong said: “The situation is more difficult than when the epidemic broke out.” At that time, unemployed workers were still receiving relief funds and food assistance. Now many people have no wages and “no food to eat.” When factories are underemployed, seasonal workers without contracts are the first to be laid off. This group of people checked out more than a month ago and are mainly from the central plateau provinces. Next are those who are arranged to take 15-20 days off with basic pay, and their hometowns are about 500 kilometers away from Binh Duong.
“There is a salary, but they can’t survive on VND5 million a month. They have to go home,” Hong said.
To help workers, Ms. Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran, vice president of the Binh Duong Federation of Labor, said that in the near future, the provincial trade union will coordinate with the labor management agency to find new jobs in enterprises in the same industry. In addition, the union recommended that the labor industry quickly release the support package. The number of affected workers is large, and the union is reviewing the list and providing policy assistance to the Provincial People’s Committee and the Federation of Trade Unions.
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