Workers hang banners demanding debt because businesses are late in paying money
In the last days of December, some images and videos of workers hanging banners demanding salary debts in Dien Bien were shared on some associations and groups on social networks, causing special public concern. The banners contain content asking functional agencies, authorities at all levels and Lao Dong Newspaper to help people get wages.
Immediately after the incident occurred, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters approached and learned information from related people. Through this, it was determined that the case of workers hanging banners demanding salary debts occurred on December 30, 2025 in Tia Dinh commune (belonging to the old Dien Bien Dong district), Dien Bien province.
The case is related to the project "Moving people from Tia Dinh village to Chua Ta village, Tia Dinh commune". This project is invested by the Project Management Board of Area 2. The project construction unit is the Consortium of Trong Sy Construction and Transport Co., Ltd. and Phuc Linh Co., Ltd.
According to the minutes of confirmation between the enterprise and representatives of the investor and workers who are owed salaries (November 21), the enterprise still owes workers 685,480,000 VND, including wages of construction teams; food money; excavator driving labor...
The investor and contractor committed to pay the debt to the workers on their behalf by December 30, 2025. However, as scheduled, these workers still did not receive the agreed wages, so workers hung banners and asked functional agencies and Lao Dong Newspaper to intervene.
On January 5, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Chu Dinh Hung - Director of Project Management Board of Area 2 - said: "To ensure the rights of workers, the Project Management Board has worked with the parties and agreed to take the warranty money and construction costs of the enterprise to pay workers when the enterprise completes the volume". However, as of December 30, 2025, the enterprise has not yet completed some items, so the investor cannot pay the remaining amount to workers.
Workers thank Lao Dong Newspaper
On January 6, a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper had a working session with Mr. Do Trong Sy - Director of Trong Sy Construction and Transport Co., Ltd. He said: "The amount of nearly 700 million VND in the case of workers hanging banners demanding debt has nothing to do with the project that the company is implementing".
According to Mr. Sy, at the project "Moving people from Tia Dinh village to Chua Ta village, Tia Dinh commune" (where workers and a group of people hung banners), the enterprise does not owe workers' salaries. The debt amount of 685,480,000 VND according to the minutes of work between the parties is from other projects.
Explaining this debt amount, Mr. Do Trong Sy said: "A part of the wages of our workers is kept to be paid directly to the people in front of the commune government, avoiding the situation of paying to the group leader but the workers are not received as happened before".
However, the business director also admitted that workers' debts, no matter what the cost of the project, must be paid when the project is completed. Therefore, he directed workers to complete the damaged items arising after the rain and floods to be paid and have money to pay workers...
After Lao Dong Newspaper reflected on Laodong.vn on January 6, by the afternoon of January 7, the investor (Project Management Board of Area 2) said that the unit had paid the project warranty money to the enterprise after they completed the items. On the same day, the enterprise paid wages to workers and groups of workers.
On the same day, some workers and group leaders in the case of "hanging banners demanding salary debt" texted to thank Lao Dong Newspaper after receiving money from the business.
