Workers' rights need to be addressed promptly.

(Baonghean)After nearly eight months without pay, many workers at Nghe An Petroleum Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company recently received further notices that they must temporarily cease employment.

All those temporarily laid off belonged to the Technical Planning Department and the Finance and Accounting Department; some were key personnel, department heads, and deputy heads of the company. Mr. Pham Van Thanh – former Head of the Finance and Organization Department and Chairman of the Company's Trade Union – stated: “In 2009, I was hired at Enterprise 9 – Nghe An Petroleum Construction Joint Stock Company (now Nghe An Petroleum Corporation Joint Stock Company). On August 26, 2011, I was transferred to Nghe An Petroleum Joint Stock Company No. 3. In September, I signed an indefinite labor contract with Director Nguyen Minh Hue, and at the end of October, I was appointed Head of the Administrative and Organization Department and Chairman of the Trade Union. In June 2012, the Petroleum Corporation appointed a new director, Mr. Nguyen Hong Danh (replacing the old director who had resigned due to health reasons), and the company changed its name to Nghe An Petroleum Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company, a member unit of Nghe An Petroleum Construction Joint Stock Company.”

Shortly after the new director took office, on August 30, 2012, Mr. Pham Van Thanh and seven other employees unexpectedly received notice of temporary unpaid leave. Prior to that, on August 25, 2012, Mr. Thanh received a decision dismissing him from his position as Head of the Human Resources and Administration Department, but without specifying the reason. Mr. Thanh stated: "I am the Chairman of the Trade Union, but I am also very unclear about the company's reasons. They said the company was facing difficulties and we were not fulfilling our duties, but when we requested an explanation, the company's leadership did not provide a clear reason."

Not only were the workers temporarily laid off without pay and given no return date, but they were also very upset because they hadn't received any wages for the past eight months. The total amount owed by the company to the workers reached 240 million VND. Mr. Thanh said: "Previously, even when the company didn't pay salaries, we encouraged each other to keep working because the company was facing difficulties. But now we have no work and the company hasn't paid our outstanding wages, so what hope do we have left? We can't even go through the procedures to receive unemployment insurance because the company still owes social insurance contributions. We are also concerned because while we are laid off, the director has hired two new workers."

Working with us on this issue, Mr. Nguyen Hong Danh – Director – stated: The temporary layoff of employees and the failure to pay their wages are true. However, the company is currently facing extreme difficulties, and the first solution to "save" the company is to reduce the workforce. This is not just a policy of the company, but a general policy of the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation and Nghe An province.

Specifically, according to Mr. Danh, he only took over the company six months ago. Prior to that, the company had only been operating for over a year, having constructed two projects at the Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant (Ha Tinh province) and one project in Nghia Dan district. Currently, the projects are basically completed, but for more than six months, the parent company has not paid the company, so the company has no money to pay its employees' salaries. In 2013, the company only has one project worth over 4 billion VND under construction to keep it afloat, so there is no plan to provide work for the employees. For this reason, the company has been forced to ask employees to take temporary leave. According to Mr. Danh, it is unknown when the company will have the money to pay the outstanding salaries to its workers.

In a discussion with Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Chairman of the General Corporation's Trade Union, he affirmed: "The dismissal of Mr. Pham Van Thanh from the position of Head of the Organization and Administration Department without a valid reason is incorrect. In mid-September, after receiving the petition from the aforementioned employees, the General Corporation held a meeting requesting the Nghe An Petroleum Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company to settle the salary payments for the employees. We were completely unaware that these employees have not received their salaries for the past eight months." Mr. Cuong added: "We will investigate this matter at the Company and will find a solution as soon as possible so that the employees can receive their rights."

Dam Phuong - My Ha