World

Strike at Pou Chen’s factory in Vietnam

Jan 12, 2022 Vietnam

Thousands went on strike at a factory in southern Vietnam that belongs to the Taiwanese manufacturer of branded sports footwear. Employees are demanding better year-end bonuses

Workers at the factory located in Bien Hoa City complained that the company cut their year-end bonuses (Tet bonuses) to the equivalent of 1 to 1.5 months of income. Allegedly, in previous years the Tet bonuses corresponded to 1.9 and 2.2 months of income. The employees stopped working and stood on the national road in front of the factory’s entrance, causing traffic congestion for hours, reported the VN Express. The Tet, that is, the lunar new year, will be celebrated at the beginning of February.

A Pou Chen representative recalled that in 2021 the company struggled with the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (production stopped between the 12^th of July to the 30^th of September and resumed in October, but only at 60% of the capacity), causing profits to fall. The representative added that under the collective labour agreement, the company would pay Tet bonuses to employees based on its business performance.

Nevertheless, city authorities are negotiating with the company’s executive to raise the bonuses to last year levels. The chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Nguyen was quoted by Tuoi Tre newspaper saying that “the workers also need to share the difficulties with the company, which had to suspend production for a long-time last year due to the pandemic”.

The Taiwan-owned company, which supplies brands such as Nike and adidas, has other facilities in Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and in the southern provinces of Tien Giang, Tay Ninh and Ba Ria.

Image Credits: billcoo on Flickr

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