Nearly 800 workers at Carimax Saigon Company in HCMC are in the seventh day of a strike over the company's failure to pass on a mandated pay rise.
Workers strike at Carimax Saigon Company
The government decreed last year wage would rise by VND250,000-400,000 per month depending on region, from January 2015, with employers barred from removing bonuses.
But on December 27, the board of directors at Carimax said that because of losses, the pay rise would be determined according to each worker's attitude, capability and experiences.
It also declared the Tet bonus would be 90% of a worker's monthly wage, but if workers went on strike, the company would consider cancelling the bonus.
Workers went on strike on January 3, with no agreement reached after 15 rounds of negotiation.
"The company's required output and productivity are impossible to meet," one striking worker said. "It's like outright refusing our minimum wage raise."
Another worker said while negotiations were underway, the company cut off electricity, cancelled Tet bonuses and declared all striking workers would be sacked for missing five consecutive days of work without cause.
Carimax director Hwang Chan Kyung said the company is incurring losses and has no concrete solution to the dispute, but will work with labour and trade unions in Cu Chi District to persuade workers return to work to limit further losses on both sides while a settlement is reached.
