Taiwan’s Makalot Garments last week had to raise workers’ wages after
facing a strike that stopped its production for four days.
Luong Van Thang, chairman of the
trade union under Hai Duong province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the
new monthly company allowance for workers was VND292,000 ($14) per employee,
forcing the firm’s labour costs to increase by 8.3 per cent, or about $42,100
per month.
The increase came after 3,000
workers on July 28 protested as they had to work overtime in harsh conditions.
In addition, they also complained that the meal allowance was too low, at only
VND11,000 ($0.53) each day. During the working time from 7.30am to 8.30pm,
workers had only one hour to have lunch and 15 minutes for rest.
The strike became more serious on
July 30 as a Taiwanese manager hit a Vietnamese worker.
“Thanks to the strike the lunch
allowance for workers was raised from VND11,000 ($0.53) to VND15,000 ($0.72)
per meal to ensure employees’ health, especially while the firm has a lot of
orders and thus working overtime is quite often,” said Thang.
Makalot Garments Co., Ltd 2 was
the largest company in Hai Duong’s Thanh Ha district, creating more than 3,000
jobs for residents. Each worker of the company could earn about VND3.5-4 million
($168-$192) per month, said Thang.
Foreign manufacturers in Vietnam
have faced many strikes in recent years as workers ask for higher salaries and
allowances.
A survey conducted late last year
by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour’s Institute of Workers and Trade
Unions showed that average monthly income for a foreign-invested enterprise
worker was VND3.1 million ($150) in the first zone covering Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh City.
More than one-third of the
workers said they could not afford to cover the cost of living, while 44.7 per
cent said they had to spend sparingly, according to the survey of Institute of
Workers and Trade Unions.
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids
and Social Affairs reported that this year’s first five months witnessed 228
strikes in 25 cities and provinces.
Phan Hien | vir.com.vn
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