Why are thousands of garment workers in Dien Chau on strike?

Previously, on February 16 (the 5th day of Tet), a strike of nearly 1,400 workers took place at VietGlory Company Limited. The cause of the strike came from demands forworkers rightsfrom before Tet has not been resolved.

Thousands of workers went on strike at VietGlory Company Limited on the morning of February 16. Photo: Dien Chau District Labor Federation

Specifically, on February 8 (ie 27th of Tet), the collective of workers of VietGlory Company Limited submitted a petition to the board of directors with 12 contents as follows:

1- Propose annual salary increase for employees.

2- Must have fuel allowance.

3- Must have food money for workers working overtime until 7pm.

4- Do not force workers to work overtime, overtime must have the workers' consent.

5- Increase the shift meal for workers to 20,000 VND/meal.

6- If production is to increase, production wages for workers must be increased.

7- Sunday work must have money for meals.

8- The State's regulation is 6 days off, so the Company gives 5 days off excluding Sunday, so working on the 5th day of Tet must be counted as 3 times.

9- The payroll must clearly state which items cannot be combined.

10- Foreign managers are requested to respect workers and not to curse or yell at workers.

11- Long-term workers must have overtime pay.

12- Must have child allowance.

The strike has affected the company's production. Photo: Duc Cuong

On the morning of February 16 - the first working day after the Tet holiday, some workers came to the company but did not go to work to protest the company's failure to implement the policies requested by the workers. This caused the remaining workers to also not go to work.

After receiving the information, relevant departments, branches and the Labor FederationDien Chau districtwas present to participate in resolving the incident.

After a meeting lasting more than 2 hours, the district and commune departments, the board of directors and representatives of workers worked together to resolve the remaining issues to stabilize the situation and continue production. The meeting requested the company to consider the workers' recommendations to resolve them immediately on the afternoon of February 16 and respond to the workers as soon as possible so that the company's workers can return to work as usual on February 17.

Notice dated February 16 and decision dated February 17 of the company's leadership on resolving the workers' petitions. Photo: Duc Cuong

However, on February 17, because many workers did not agree with the company's solution, they still did not return to work. On the afternoon of February 17, the company added some more benefits for workers, such as: Attendance allowance of 200,000 VND/month; position-based assessment allowance from 50,000 VND to 500,000 VND;allowance50 thousand VND/month/child for female workers raising children under 6 months old; allowance of 30 thousand VND/person/month for female workers during menstruation; allowance of 183,505 VND/month for workers working in toxic and arduous environments; productivity bonus according to company regulations; Chinese language allowance of 50 thousand VND to 2 million VND/month, based on the language assessment exam; year-end bonus of one month's basic salary if the worker works for a full year...

On the morning of February 18, workers of VietGlory Company Limited returned to work. Photo: Duc Cuong

After this decision, on February 18, workers of VietGlory Company Limited returned to work as usual.

VietGlory Company Limited was established in 2019, specializing in the production of leather shoes. Currently, 1,400 workers of the company have registered to join the union. However, the company has not yet established a union.

It is known that the establishment of a grassroots union at the company will be implemented in the near future.

Diep Thanh