Having a new job is still difficult...
In July 2023, Lao Dong Newspaper received a report about dozens of workers at Van Y Production Company Limited (address Phuoc Thoi ward, O Mon district, Can Tho city) being owed wages and social insurance for nearly 2 years, many years. Workers find themselves in a situation where they can't stay and work, and they can't even apply for a job at another company. As soon as we received and verified the information, we arranged to meet with the group of workers to listen to the situation because we knew that if we were one day late, the workers would suffer even more that day.
From July 27, 2023, Lao Dong Newspaper began publishing news and articles about the case, immediately followed by the involvement of the authorities, and the social insurance side also had a plan to close the books for workers applying to work. To date, some workers have received their unpaid wages and found new jobs. Regarding the social insurance and unemployment insurance dispute, Can Tho City Social Insurance is continuing to ask for opinions from Can Tho City People's Committee to handle the case.
Waiting for a solution for too long, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (born 1976, Can Tho City) was forced to apply for a job at another company to make money. “I'm new to the job, I'm not familiar with it, so my salary is very low! For more than a year now, the old company has still not resolved all of our rights, making family life even more difficult. We have new jobs but we still don't feel safe working because our losses are too great," Ms. Huong said.
Another male worker (requested to remain anonymous) who was owed salary and social insurance by Van Y Manufacturing Co., Ltd. also applied to work at a new company. He said: "I have been demanding my rights for several months but still have not been satisfied. Now I still have to worry about rent and food for my family, sometimes I'm in debt and have to borrow from friends."
Forced to send children back home
In Dong Thap province, in March 2024, through proactively grasping the situation, we learned that MFC Sa Dec Branch - MFC Group Joint Stock Company (Abbreviated as MFC Company) owed salaries, social insurance, and expenses. union of about 75 workers with an amount of about 2.2 billion VND. Among the workers contacted, the case of Mr. Luu Quang Thach (Ward 2, Sa Dec City, Dong Thap) is the most special because while waiting for the amount to be settled and the social insurance book to be finalized, he had to do seasonal work and was forced to send The daughter returned home to be cared for by her grandparents.
“I applied to work as a porter so my salary is not stable, on peak days I get 200,000 VND, some days I get only 50,000 VND. If we have money, we eat fish, but most still eat instant noodles and eggs while waiting for information from the company," Mr. Thach said.
After Lao Dong Newspaper published the information, at the end of May 2024, Mr. Thach and some workers were paid their unpaid wages and closed their social insurance books. But at this time, Mr. Thach's family is facing a chorus of difficulties because his daughter is about to go back to school: "Going up and down to deal with paperwork makes me unable to work stably, while the seasonal job is about to end." row. My husband and I are trying to borrow money to buy books, shoes and pay our children's tuition."
"The company still owes me 1.5 months salary and 1 year of social insurance. I hope every day it will be resolved so I can start a new job soon" - Mr. Tran Van Huynh (Sa Dec City) said.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan - Chairman of the Trade Union of Dong Thap Industrial Parks and Economic Zones - informed that the union has been coordinating with functional branches to come up with solutions to contact businesses. "Learning from this incident, we will increase propaganda with workers about legal labor relations, especially the need to coordinate with the Trade Union as soon as possible to avoid similar situations from happening again," Mr. Nhan said.
