Labor shortage and fierce competition
Mr. Cao Huu Hieu - General Director of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) said that the difficult problem that most factories under the group are facing is the lack of labor and fierce competition for labor. According to him, the difficulty in recruiting labor has become worrying when the rate of employees quitting their jobs in the past time at some units under the group has been equal to the whole year of 2023 and this trend continues to increase.
To solve the difficulties in labor recruitment, Mr. Hieu said that - there needs to be more in-depth research and analysis to determine the main causes; survey the level of satisfaction of employees at the enterprise, in order to have more focused and appropriate solutions in retaining employees with the enterprise, as well as attracting new labor sources from outside.
The human resources department of enterprises needs to implement plans to make the most of existing resources; optimize the management model, functions and tasks of departments, perfect the competency framework system, job descriptions to determine the labor force in the most accurate way...
Vinatex CEO added that due to the labor shortage, it is difficult for businesses to expand production, so now businesses need to prepare plans to move to production areas that bring higher added value.
Enterprises need to proactively develop at the beginning of the supply chain - the design stage (the distribution stage also brings high efficiency but is very difficult to develop at this stage because it requires investment in a wide distribution network and human resources with good market capacity).
Need to improve income and salary policy for workers
With the demand for production increasing, Bowker Garment Vietnam Co., Ltd. is actively recruiting 300 more garment workers. The company uses many information channels to approach candidates, including social media platforms and through referrals from current workers. Notably, the company has also decided to do something unprecedented: giving 13th month salary to workers who have been hired since August.
“Normally, the 13th month salary is calculated based on the number of months worked in a year, but the company is now willing to offer incentives so that new workers can still receive the full bonus,” said a company representative, adding that for skilled workers, the company applies a joining bonus based on their skill level. However, despite these policies to attract workers, the company is still having difficulty filling its production lines.
Mr. Tran Thanh Son - Head of Human Resources Department of Song Ngoc Garment Company Limited - said that this is the first time the company has failed to expand production and recruit workers, although the company has committed to ensuring a total income of about 12 million VND/month (of which 25% of the income comes from overtime). Since the beginning of 2024, orders at the factory have been abundant. The company planned to open 2 more production lines but had to cancel the plan because it could not recruit workers. Some former workers had quit before, the company called to invite them to work again but most of them shook their heads, wanting to stay home to receive unemployment benefits.
According to Mr. Pham Xuan Hong - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Garment, Embroidery and Knitting Association: “Improving income and salary policy is very important. Enterprises should support overtime pay, monthly bonuses and some other expenses for workers. At the same time, we need to try not to work too much overtime but still ensure income by encouraging workers to work more productively,” Mr. Hong suggested.
