More than 3,000 workers at the Ivory Vietnam Company in Thanh Hoa Province have gone on strike over the past five days to protest against the company’s policies on overtime, Dtinews reported.
On October 18, about 3,000 workers gathered in front of the company’s gate to protest against too many extra shifts. They additionally complained about poor bonuses and too expensive lunches.
“They forced us to work all day long, even during the weekends but the bonuses stay the same, from VND50,000 (USD2.13) to VND150,000. The lunch subsidies are also low. The basic wages of senior workers who have worked for five years are the same as new workers,” one worker in Hau Loc said.
Thanh Hoa General Confederation of Labour has collaborated with local authorities to ensure social order and hold a meeting with the workers as soon as possible. However, on October 24, thousands of workers still went on strike as they waited for the official decision from the company.
Hau Loc District People’s Committee announced that the district’s Party Secretary Nguyen Van Ap and the representative of Hau Loc General Confederation of Labour had worked with the company and its workers.
Vu Thi Ha, Vice Chairwoman of Hau Loc District, said Ivory Vietnam Company agreed to increase lunch subsidies from VND14,000 (60 US cents) to VND15,000 per worker. Bonuses would also be increased to VND100,000-VND200,000 and the company made a promise to follow regulations on overtime.
“Ivory Vietnam Company is seeking opinions from its mother company in South Korea about seniority payments. They may raise the payment in early 2019 for workers at all of the member companies in Vietnam,” she said.
She went on to say that leaders of Hau Loc District would soon announce the information and called for the workers to return to work.
