More than 1,000 workers from two companies in HCM City have stopped working to protest against poor policies from their managers.
Workers at Thuan Phuong Company on strike on July 10
The strikes occurred on July 10 at Thuan Phuong Embroidering Garment Limited Company in Binh Chanh District and Hoang Ngoc Truc Limited Company in Tan Binh District.
Some workers at the Hoang Ngoc Truc Company complained that since March any workers who took leave to deal with private issues suffered from pay cuts based on overtime wages instead of normal wages.
“Our normal wage is VND11,000 (USD0.52) per hour but when we take off work we are docked based on our overtime wage, which is from VND17,000-19,000 (USD0.80-USD0.90) per hour. Sometimes they even use the overtime hours we already worked to reimburse for our off days. It’s really unfair,” one worker said.
Another worker said that any workers who need time off because of health or family problems may have their pay level reduced.
“After all kinds of pay cuts, our salaries are very modest. Many of us get paid the same amount to work on weekends as on working days," she added.
Workers at Thuan Phuong Company said many of them had worked 50-60 hours of overtime over the course of a month, including at least two weekends, but were disappointed by their meager paychecks when they came.
“In June I worked 54 hours of overtime, including two weekends, but they paid me for only 24 hours of overtime and did not include any weekends. When I complained they said they used part of our salaries to pay for social insurance fees for the remaining six months. I find that really suspicious,” one worker said.
Even though Hoang Ngoc Truc Company employees around 300 people, more than 200 of them do not have labour contracts or social insurance policies.
“Many people who have worked here for over two years have asked for labour contracts but the company refused. Initially they pledged to pay us VND300,000 (USD14.26) per month each for 'diligence'. At first they paid half that, but now the payment has completely disappeared,” a worker said.
Another worker said they have to request days off for the weekends. Anyone who takes a three-day weekend is reported, adding that the company sets high productivity targets and forces employees to work overtime, even on weekends, to meet those quotas without proper pay.
Phan Thi Lan, Chairwoman of District 6’s Labour Union, said Hoang Ngoc Truc Company has headquarters in District 6 and has relocated their factory to Binh Tan District.
“All the company’s trade union officials have stopped working and we received little support from the company during the relocation process,” Lan said.
The company announced on July 10 that they would reconsider and return missing payment for workers’ overtime hours by July 13 and would improve their policies in the coming months, she added.
