The Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) yesterday called on South Korean companies doing business in Viet Nam to pay greater attention to the interests of their local workers.

The move would help the two countries build a stable and harmonious bilateral relationship, beneficial for both sides, VGCL said.

VGCL chairman Dang Ngoc Tung said Viet Nam had become an attractive destination for foreign investors, including South Korean businesses. "Foreign investment is an important factor in creating jobs, increasing workers’ income and helping boost the country’s economic growth. That’s why we not only attach importance to investors’ benefits but also focus on protecting the interest of labourers," he said.

"However, recent disputes related to the working relationship between South Korean enterprises and their Vietnamese staff go against this relationship."

There had been an upward trend in the number of strikes in foreign-invested companies since 1995, said VGCL deputy chairman Mai Duc Chinh. In the first five months of the year, there were 257 strikes and South Korean firms accounted for 30.5 per cent of the figure – the largest proportion.

According to chairman of the HCM City Federation of Labour Nguyen Huy Can, in HCM City alone, there were 48 labour disputes in South Korean companies from January to September, making up 39.3 per cent of the total number of such cases in foreign-invested enterprises.

Most strikes were over labour law violations on salaries and social insurance premiums, Can said.

Last month, 700 workers at the Vina Haeng Woon Industry Company sent a petition to local authorities saying they had not received salaries since September, when the company suddenly closed.

The South Korea-invested garment company, located in District 8’s Ward 16, owed its employees more than VND2 billion (US$120,000), according to District 8’s Labour Union.

A few days after the petition was filed, company director Noh Yeon Hong fled the country.

A lawsuit is also being filed against the company for failing to pay a total of VND1.8 billion ($110,000) in social insurance premiums for its employees, according to the HCM City Social Insurance Agency (HCIA).

The company was one of a number of foreign-invested companies owing salaries and social insurance. Currently, the HCIA was conducting lawsuits against five South Korean firms which had violated the law on social insurance, Chinh said.

Only 254 of 525 South Korean companies in the city had paid social insurance for their employees and 87 of them had outstanding premiums of nearly VND42 billion ($2.5 million), Can said.

According to the representatives, some companies forced their employees to work longer hours but did not offer any overtime and did not provide good working conditions in terms of working safety and hygiene.

Limited communication between labourers and employees, and the fact that labour unions in companies did not function properly, were other reasons behind the strikes, they added.

Labour unions and agencies at the grassroots level did not have the power to directly impose fines on foreign-invested companies. The Government body in charge of managing foreign-invested companies, the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA), was also short of staff.

Solution

Chinh said that first of all, workers’ unions should promote their roles as intermediaries to look after employees more efficiently.

He suggested that local authorities should hold meetings with foreign enterprises every six months to listen to their opinions and help them deal with difficulties in good time to solve them.

Chairman of the South Korean Chamber of Industry and Trade Lim Sung Sam said that South Korean companies were always willing to do long-term business in Viet Nam, and agreed that such meetings and dialogues would be a good opportunity for Vietnamese authorities, South Korean companies and local employees to better understand each other.

The South Korea Embassy should supervise and call on South Korean companies to comply with Vietnamese regulations, as well as support Vietnamese authorities in asking violating companies to make good the damage that their workers had to suffer, Chinh said.

The Embassy should ask company owners who had fled Viet Nam to return to Viet Nam and settle any outstanding payments.

Earlier this month, DoLISA worked with the South Korean Consulate General in HCM City and the South Korean Business Association on issues of owed salaries and social insurance premiums.

Local experts said stricter measures were needed to punish companies that intentionally violated labour laws, including revoking licences and filing lawsuits