April 2, 2008 From the Straits Time
HANOI - MORE than 15,000 workers at a Vietnam factory that makes shoes for Nike on Wednesday ended a two-day strike launched to seek better pay, a union official said.
The workers, who went on strike on Monday at the Ching Luh factory in southern Long An province to demand a monthly pay rise of 200,000 dong (S$17.16), agreed to management's offer of 100,000 dong a month, the official said.
The union official, Nguyen Thi Dung, said the workers at the Taiwanese-owned factory needed the extra money 'because of the increase in prices... which has hit people hard recently'.
Strikes are becoming more frequent in communist Vietnam, where consumer prices have risen more than 16 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008, including for essentials such as the staple food rice.
Nike said the workers at the Ching Luh plant were already being paid more than the government-set minimum wage of between 800,000 dong and one million dong per month for foreign companies in Vietnam.
'We recognise the impact that rising inflation has had on the people of Vietnam,' Nike spokesman Chris Helzer said on Tuesday.
'We strongly support the workers' rights to freedom of association and hope the situation will be resolved quickly and amicably.'
The US sportswear giant said it works with 50 different factories in the country, where about a third of its shoes are produced.
In December, 10,000 workers walked off the job at another Vietnamese plant where goods are made for Nike. -- AFP
HANOI - MORE than 15,000 workers at a Vietnam factory that makes shoes for Nike on Wednesday ended a two-day strike launched to seek better pay, a union official said.
The workers, who went on strike on Monday at the Ching Luh factory in southern Long An province to demand a monthly pay rise of 200,000 dong (S$17.16), agreed to management's offer of 100,000 dong a month, the official said.
The union official, Nguyen Thi Dung, said the workers at the Taiwanese-owned factory needed the extra money 'because of the increase in prices... which has hit people hard recently'.
Strikes are becoming more frequent in communist Vietnam, where consumer prices have risen more than 16 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008, including for essentials such as the staple food rice.
Nike said the workers at the Ching Luh plant were already being paid more than the government-set minimum wage of between 800,000 dong and one million dong per month for foreign companies in Vietnam.
'We recognise the impact that rising inflation has had on the people of Vietnam,' Nike spokesman Chris Helzer said on Tuesday.
'We strongly support the workers' rights to freedom of association and hope the situation will be resolved quickly and amicably.'
The US sportswear giant said it works with 50 different factories in the country, where about a third of its shoes are produced.
In December, 10,000 workers walked off the job at another Vietnamese plant where goods are made for Nike. -- AFP
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April 14, 2008
Vietnamese workers striking for better pay
Foreign-owned plants hit hardest as number of walkouts grows
By Roger Mitton
IN HANOI - SOME 300 workers walked out of a Singapore-managed factory in central Vietnam last week as wildcat strikes continued to spread in the country.
They claimed their current wage of US$54 (S$73) a month at the CCI electronics plant was not enough to survive on amid surging inflation.
The management offered them US$1 more a month, provided they agreed to obey factory rules and not cause any future disruptions. Dissatisfied with the offer, they stormed out. The factory remains closed.
It is an increasingly common scene repeated in Vietnam as low-income workers refuse
to accept monthly wages that are often less than what managers and their politically connected local partners spend on lunch.
Adding impetus to such perceptions of economic injustice is the fact that inflation in Vietnam has rocketed to levels unseen anywhere else in Asia.
Officially, the inflation rate is around 20 per cent, but it is much higher for essential items needed by most workers. Food costs, for instance, have gone up 30 per cent, and fuel and rents by an even greater amount.
Workers also gripe about enforced overtime, poor quality factory food, lack of employment contracts giving them some security and the absence of protection against workplace hazards.
'If company managers pay the very minimum wage and expect workers to work overtime and give them poor food in the canteen, and sometimes do not pay bonuses, you cannot blame them for going on strike,' said Dr Trinh Duy Luan, director of Hanoi's Institute for Sociology Studies.
There has been an unprecedented number of angry workers walking out on their jobs.
There were more than 500 strikes involving hundreds of thousands of workers last year, but the situation looks set to be much worse this year.
Most strikes have been at foreign-owned plants. Recently, 10,000 staff stormed out of a Hong Kong-owned toy company after getting only US$30 in annual bonus.
Earlier this month, in perhaps the most devastating blow to Vietnam's already tattered image as a stable location for investors, 17,000 workers walked out on their jobs at a factory making shoes for global brand Nike, which has 50 operations in Vietnam.
It was the second major work stoppage to hit Nike in recent months. After failing to get a 22 per cent raise on their US$58 a month salary, some workers were unhappy, and fights broke out.
'The government is to blame for not properly monitoring the labour situation, and for letting inflation rise so much that workers are getting poorer, even if their wages are increased a little,' said Dr Luan.
The communist regime has come under fire for giving priority to managers and for pandering to foreign investors.
Striking workers complain that the government penalises them for fighting for a livable wage, while turning a blind eye as top party officials help smoothen deals for investors and get handsome payoffs in return.
But the government has been reluctant to raise wages, fearing this could put off investors. To deter workers from participating in wildcat strikes, the government has warned that those who do so will have to pay their employers up to three months' salary as compensation.
But this would only exacerbate labour strife, which has already sent shivers of apprehension through the business community, especially foreign-owned companies.
'The growing numbers of strikes may well hurt Vietnam's image and upset potential investors, who might wonder if the labour market and the country as a whole is not so stable after all,' warned Dr Nguyen Quang A, director of Hanoi's Institute for Development Studies.
rogermitton@hotmail.com
rogermitton@hotmail.com
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April 23
4,000 workers go on strike in southern Vietnam
HANOI - MORE than 4,000 workers walked off the job at a privately owned shoe factory in Ho Chi Minh City, demanding higher pay to keep pace with rising inflation, a company official said on Wednesday.
Workers first stopped working last week at the factory in Vietnam's largest city to ask for an increase in their average monthly salary of 850,000 Vietnamese dong (S$71), said Nguyen Quang Hung, human resource manager of Hue Phong Footwear.
The company agreed to increase their salary 38 per cent to 1,170,000 Vietnamese dong. That's about 75 per cent higher than the minimum wage for workers at Vietnamese-owned firms.
But the workers then demanded to be fully paid for the five days they were on strike, Mr Hung said.
But the workers then demanded to be fully paid for the five days they were on strike, Mr Hung said.
'We understand that inflation has soared. That was why we agreed on the increase,' he said. 'But we can only provide them a certain amount for food for the five days they did not work.'
Hue Phong has been operating in Ho Chi Minh City since 1994. It currently employs about 6,000 workers. The company produces shoes for export to Europe and elsewhere in Asia.
Consumer prices in Vietnam are 19 per cent higher than they were a year ago, according to government figures. A wave of strikes has hit companies across the country over the past few years. -- AP
Hue Phong has been operating in Ho Chi Minh City since 1994. It currently employs about 6,000 workers. The company produces shoes for export to Europe and elsewhere in Asia.
Consumer prices in Vietnam are 19 per cent higher than they were a year ago, according to government figures. A wave of strikes has hit companies across the country over the past few years. -- AP
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Do you think that there are other ways for workers to demand for better pay?
Should company pay worker more? How much more?
Are the TNC exploiting the workers?
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10 comments:
Are TNCs exploiting the workers?
In my opinion, my answer is yes to a larger extent.
These TNCs are known to operate in several locations out of country of origin, and international trade has generated much revenue for them.
Yes i agree that the country of origin has the priority to enjoy the benefits brought about by the revenue earned by these TNCs.
And yes i agree that one of the reasons they had chosen a country to invest in is also due to lower cost of production, hence workers should have expected that pays could not reach too high a level or they will lose their attraction and TNCs would migrate.
BUT,given the situation now, the inflation has created problems for the workers.Their expenditure on food has increased and thus less money left for savings.Furthermore, their wages are less then what the rich spend on lunch.
It is due to the government being afraid of losing the TNCs investments, therefore they do not agree to raise wages. But it links back to the TNCs, where by it was the TNCs that had set the criteria of low cost of production, causing restrictions in the pays of the workers.
It is also government's fault that they were unable to suppress the inflation,causing the citizens to face economic hardships brought about by inflation.
But did the TNCs make any effort to help?
Apparently, there was an effort to increase the the wages, but it did not help as inflation was rising far too high and workers were still not satisfied.
Other than that, nothing else was done.
Poor quality food were provided to the workers, the workers had to work overtime, without protection from workplace hazards.These were the conditions provided to the workers in a low paying job. But why would a human being want to work in such conditions when they are aware that they earn very little?They wouldn’t want to risk they safety for just a little money as their families depended on them for income. The workers know that it is not worth it, even though they are not well educated and hence should have lower expectations.
It is obvious that the TNCs are taking advantage of the workers(exploiting) by providing less but receiving more.
Given the amount of money earned by the TNCs, they should be able to provide more for the workers in exchange for the hard work and the risk they put themselves into.
But they did not. They continued to pay low but at the same time, expect the workers to continue to work as they used to. Isn't this exploitation? Whereby you take advantage of somebody,and make use of somebody for your own benefits?
I am aware that TNCs already has this criteria beforehand that they pay for low cost production but this time, the addition of the burden from the inflation on the workers has led them to the only way to lighten burden, which was the rise of wages. In this case, paying low seems more like an exploitation than just simply a criteria.TNCs insist on continued production even with inflation going on and low wages given to workers. The continued production was important for them to have more income and revenue generated so if production stopped TNCs themselves could be affected.Hence, they pay low, but expect continued production so that they will still have revenue.
If I were to say a case where they are not exploiting the workers is that if inflation goes on, TNCs should increase their wages to a substantial amount until the inflation drops in percentage, just like assisting them through a crisis. This way, workers would not feel mistreated and made use of as they could still afford for the high prices of the basic necessities.
TNCs made use of the opportunity to make the workers work even though it was a low paying job as the money used to pay them was very small in proportion as compared to the revenue they earned.
sheryl 4A
Well argued yl. NOw the tough question. What show the govt do? Keep the wages low and bring about investment and then development or stop foreign investment from coming in so that they will not exploit workers but no development?
If you were the Prime Minister what will you do?
Mamafess
Jill
4A
Regarding the problem by TNCs exploiting workers, keeping wages at a minimum rate might be a feasible idea but I believe that it WOULD definitely bring more harm than good in thee near future. Let me elaborate.
Minimum wages are lowest hourly, daily, or monthly wage that employers pay legally to their workers. It is a matter of ethics and social justice that helps to reduce exploitation and also ensures that workers can afford what are considered to be basic necessities. Of course, such wages do have advantages like…
1) it increases the standard of living for the poorest and the most vulnerable class in society and hence raises average.
2) Stimulates consumption, by putting in more money in the hands of the low- income people who spend their entire paychecks
3) As well as to increase the work ethic of those who earn little income, as the employers normally demand more return from the higher cost of hiring these employees
However, don’t forget the impact that such wages have on us. For example,
1) it reduces profit margins of business owners employing minimum wage owners, thus encouraging a move to businesses that do not employ lowly- skilled workers
2) businesses try to compensate for the decrease in profit by raising the prices of goods hence causing inflation and increasing the cost and prices of goods produced.
Likewise, minimum wages should cause unemployment. This is because a greater number of workers are willing to work at the higher wage while only a smaller number of jobs will be available at the higher wage. This leads to companies being more selective in those whom they employ, thus the least skilled and inexperienced will typically be excluded. So, obviously it isn’t fair to these less skilled workers.
Perhaps minimum wages might benefit broader population of low wage earners, but it is not an exception to countries that are more economically globalised. I think it’s more practical for the government to maximize opportunities at work and save cost in other areas such as that political addition to basic living costs, which is rather redundant in the first place.
How do you decide what is the minimum wage?
If Singapore were to establish a min wage what you that be?
How much must you be paid before you are willing to work? $500? $200?
Get the idea?
Mamafess
Have 2 questions for everyone out there
1) Do you adopt this mindset (see the comic)
If you do, are you in the position to criticise the TNCs, since it is your demand for cheaper goods that directly/indirectly cause them to lower the labour wages?
2) Why is it a weak argument to assert that it is due to consumer's demand for cheaper goods that lead to low labour wages?
regarding what the government should do.
Whether they should
1)keep wages low and bring about investments and then development
or
2)stop foreign investments from coming in and have no development.
If i am the prime minister, i would first consider the aims of my choice. Would it be developing the country but low quality of life, or no development but better quality of life?Will it be accepted by the population?
Firstly, my personal choice is stop foreign investments and have no development but improve the quality of life of people.
Why did i choose to improve the quality of life of people?
I feel that having the people to work with unhappiness in them due to some conditions may affect productivity.If productivity if affected,economy in turn may be affected too.With the drop in productivity due to increasingly dissatisfied workers there will be a drop in both economic growth and quality of life.
Economic growth and quality of life are goals that are taken into consideration when measuring development.This implies that the country's development would slip backwards if economic growth and quality of life drop in standards.
If a government chooses to stop foreign investments and have no development,this could probably improve the quality of life of people.People might be willing to take up jobs that are low wages and work hard for it.But the conditions given by the TNCs have been too extreme that the workers cannot accept.Thus forcing them to continue to work for the TNCs makes them feel that they are treated unfairly.
Even if one country develops, but with dissatisfied workers, development will be short-lived.It is not sustainable as there many factors that can force workers to dead ends, just like inflation. The workers have run out of ideas and have no choice but to request for higher wages.
However, i agree that with investments, the government will then have the ability improve the environment, the workforce, the living conditions of the people.But this is provided that the government is not corrupted.With investments, the country can improve the quality of life of people.But in this case,did the government take the initiatives to do so?Was the government honest and fair enough? This problem therefore lies in the government.
Without investments, the government may have financial difficulties to develop the country but the government could choose the cumulative causation method, which involves getting initial help to introduce new industries or expansion of existing industries.There would be cumulative effects which can help a country get out of vicious cycle of poverty.This results in development without exploitations of workers.
Once again,I would choose to stop foreign investment and stop development.But if a government does not care about the population’s well being, it would be the other way round. Therefore I conclude that the choice would be a matter of morality.
I think that those workers going on a strike wouldn't do them any good. As this would only damage the impression of the their country in the eyes of TNCs. They doing would "solve" the problem of not getting a pay rise but their boss would surely try to look for an alternative country for thier factory.If they do find one they would hestitate to switch and there goes there jobs.
The companies sure at least give them a little payrise or some kind of incentive as soon as they see the raising inflation to somehow buy their hearts back let them thinking that they "care" for them.This would certainly melt their heart.
No as that's the pay they deserved.As we know there are different kinds of industrials like tertiary,secondary and primary industrials.Their skills are neither specialised nor all-rounded.
Should company pay worker more? How much more?
In my opinion ... YES! They should pay them in which they can afford and it is reasonable. This companies should pay them more to help them cope with inflation and the rising costs of living. The current wage at which they are earning is very miserable considering that they work so hard for this. This TNC's should reward them greatly as most of the manufacturing work is done by them. These workers play a very vital role in helping the company to develop. Thus, they must also be fair and hence increase their pay.
Carlene Yeo
4 Endeavour
Should companies pay workers more?
I think they should at least increase the workers' pay to help the workers cope with the inflation. Because of the inflation, the workers buy less rice for the same amount of money. When that happens, the workers get poorer. Some companies do not provide good factory food and sometimes do not pay bonuses. I think it is only fair and humane to increase the workers' pay, at least enough to cope with the inflation.
But, when you increase the workers' pay, foreign investors would not want to come in to Vietnam to invest. I think it depends and varies on the industry. Some companies that sells high end products may be able to increase the workers' salaries.
But for some labour intensive industry, cheap workers is one of the major reason for them to invest. If the pays of the workers' are to be raised, it will increase the overhead cost, hence reducing company's profit. Then they will move to a cheaper place.
But if the company had performed, they can consider increasing the workers' pay as an incentive.
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