Vietnam Factory Workers in Rare Strike to Protest New Insurance Law
RFA
- 03/31/2015
Thousands of textile workers at a Chinese-owned factory in southern Vietnam held
a fifth day of strikes Tuesday to protest a government policy on social
insurance coverage, in a rare demonstration in the tightly-controlled communist
nation.
The strike at the Pou Yuen Vietnam footwear factory at the Tan Tao Industrial
Park outside of Ho Chi Minh City began on March 26, when as many as 90,000
employees protested the new law, which prohibits workers from collecting a
lump-sum payment of the insurance if they resign.
On Tuesday, the strike continued at the factory—which makes shoes for companies,
including Adidas and Nike, as well as for brands such as Converse and
Reebok—with thousands of employees gathering inside and outside of the facility
and refusing to work, according to sources.
Lawyer Le Thi Cong Nhan of Viet Labor, a local civil society group which is
unrecognized by the government, called the new law, which goes into effect on
Jan. 1, 2016, “a step back in the rights of the workers.”
“In the past, the workers had two choices: They could either take out a lump sum
once and for all [when they resign] or they could wait until their retirement
age, but now [the government] won’t allow that,” she told RFA’s Vietnamese
Service.
“The problem here is the right to choose, which has to do with each individual’s
situation. The explanation given by the government is not right because only the
workers know what is right for them.”
Workers told RFA that they believe the provision forcing them to wait until
retirement age—60 for men and 55 for women—to collect their insurance payments
indicates the fund may have been used by the government for bad investments, and
was part of a bid to buy time to make up for the losses.
Labor minister Le Bach Hong told RFA that the workers are protesting because
they do not understand the new law.
“They are on strike because they don’t understand that this government policy
seeks to ensure their long-term benefits,” he said, adding that the company had
given the workers a day off on Tuesday so that a Ministry of Labor
representative could explain the law to them.
The official Tuoitre news agency quoted deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids,
and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep as saying that the new law aims to encourage
workers to accumulate their payments of social insurance so that they can
receive pensions when they retire, instead of receiving lump-sum payments after
each time they quit a job.
However, he said the ministry will listen to the opinions of workers and take
them into account during the preparation of guidance on the implementation of
the law.
Insurance deductions
A worker told RFA that in addition to anger over the new law, Pou Yuen had also
continued to deduct money from workers’ salaries for insurance over the past
three months, but failed to pay it to the state insurance agency.
“Neither Pou Yuen nor the insurance agency wants to take responsibility [for
these deductions],” he said.
“We heard the insurance agency claim that Pou Yuen did not provide insurance
payments for the workers over the last three months, but Pou Yuen denied it.
Then why have our salaries been deducted for insurance?”
Pou Yuen is controlled by Chinese shoemaker Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd., a
subsidiary of Taiwan-listed Pou Chen Corp.
Reuters news agency cited Pou Chen Corp. in Taiwan as calling for a swift
resolution to the dispute, adding that the strike concerned government policy
and it had no authority to intervene beyond facilitating dialogue.
A company representative told Reuters the firm had temporarily moved some
operations to other Vietnamese factories it ran and the strike "had not caused a
large material impact."
Earlier actions
Tuesday’s protests marked the fifth day of unrest by workers at the Pou Yuen
factory, despite calls from their employer to remain calm while the company
sought an explanation from the government regarding implementation of the new
law.
On Monday, thousands of workers refused to return to their jobs after a local
labor official met with them to explain the policy and marched around the
factory, spilling out onto nearby roads and blocking traffic.
Strikes and protests are rare in one-party communist Vietnam, which is known for
taking a hard line with unrest that has affected other textile manufacturing
rivals like China and Cambodia.
Lawyer Nhan stressed that the strike was not the result of a conflict between
workers and employers, but because of the change to the law.
“Workers now understand [their rights] and are more active,” she said.
“Now, they pay more attention to political issues, which are also related to
law. They now know how to take to the street immediately after changes take
place from above and are unwilling to wait until the changes affect them on an
individual basis.”
Reported by Mac Lam for RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Written in English by
Joshua Lipes.