Together with the trade union organization, successfully demanding wage arrears for workers
At the end of April 2026, hundreds of workers of Vinh Thong Production Trading and Service Co., Ltd., located in Tan Binh Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City (Vinh Thong Company), received more than 3 billion VND in salaries owed by the company for more than 1 year before that. This result was achieved thanks to the efforts of dozens of trade union officials under the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation and the companionship of Lao Dong Newspaper.
Lao Dong Newspaper has repeatedly reported that Vinh Thong Company is slow to pay the December 2024 and January 2025 salaries of hundreds of workers, and is also slow to pay social insurance with a large amount of money. The company's workers have repeatedly complained and stopped working to demand wages and social insurance, but the company has not yet paid. After that, 151 workers of Vinh Thong Company, including many female workers in the pregnancy period, authorized trade union officials of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation to sue the company to demand nearly 3.1 billion VND in wages, requesting nearly 4.8 billion VND in social insurance and resolving maternity benefits.
The Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation has sent 14 officials from the Legal Consulting Center and the Trade Union of Export Processing Zones - Industrial Parks (formerly) as representatives authorized by workers to sue Vinh Thong Company. For more than a year, overcoming many hardships and difficulties, the efforts of Ho Chi Minh City trade union officials have been partially rewarded when by the end of April 2026, Vinh Thong Company has paid off all outstanding salaries to workers. Regarding social insurance, the company promised to pay the rest by June 2026.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Loan - formerly a worker at Vinh Thong Company, who has also been paid all her salary - shared: "At first, when authorizing trade union officials to sue the company, we were also very confused, not knowing if we could get the money back. But seeing that the trade union officials were very enthusiastic and worried about the case, we became more confident. In addition, Lao Dong Newspaper also continuously inquired about information, with timely articles, helping us feel the companionship and sharing of the trade union organization.
Mr. Pham Van Hien - Deputy Director of the Legal Consulting Center of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation - shared: "The timely information of Lao Dong Newspaper also makes an important contribution to sharing and encouraging us in the process of requesting Vinh Thong Company to pay all wages to employees. We will continue to persistently pursue the case so that the company must pay all social insurance for employees in accordance with the law.
Contributing to helping millions of workers receive higher wages
In the process of collecting opinions on the draft decree stipulating the regional minimum wage (LTT) for 2026 to serve as a basis for the Government to issue a Decree stipulating the regional LTT for 2026, based on the opinions of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, Lao Dong Newspaper has continuously reflected an unreasonable point that many communes and wards in Ho Chi Minh City are adjacent to each other but apply regional LTT levels far apart (region I and region III) in the draft.
The difference of 1.17 million VND (equivalent to 28.3%) in regional LTT between areas bordering communes, wards, and special zones is too large, which may cause instability in labor relations, affecting the production and business activities of enterprises and social security and order.
From the reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper and the proposal of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs held a meeting with functional sectors of the city and agreed to propose to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to propose to the Ministry of Home Affairs and functional sectors to include in the draft decree regulating Kim Long, Chau Duc, Ngai Giao, Nghia Thanh, Long Hai, Long Dien communes and Con Dao special zone belonging to region II, applying a minimum wage of 4.73 million VND/month, instead of region III with a minimum wage of 4.14 million VND/month.
As a result, on November 10, 2025, the Government issued Decree 293/2025/ND-CP stipulating the minimum wage for employees (employees) working under labor contracts, which stipulated that Kim Long, Chau Duc, Ngai Giao, Nghia Thanh, Long Hai, Long Dien communes and Con Dao special zone belonging to region II, apply a minimum wage of 4.73 million VND/month. With this regulation, tens of thousands of employees in enterprises in the above localities have received a higher regional minimum wage.
In addition, in the draft Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, there is no regulation on continuing to implement a salary regime higher than at least 5% for employees working in jobs or positions with heavy, hazardous, and dangerous working conditions.
From the reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper, Decree 293/2025/ND-CP has stipulated: "For contents that have been agreed upon and committed in labor contracts, collective labor agreements or other legal agreements that are more beneficial to employees (such as the regime of paying salaries to employees doing jobs or titles requiring education and vocational training at least 7% higher than the minimum wage and the regime of paying salaries to employees doing jobs or titles with heavy, hazardous, and dangerous working conditions at least 5% higher; jobs or titles with particularly heavy, hazardous, and dangerous working conditions at least 7% higher than the salary of jobs or titles with equivalent complexity, working in normal working conditions) compared to the provisions of this Decree, it shall continue to be implemented, unless the parties have other agreements".
Thus, the reflections of Lao Dong Newspaper have contributed to helping tens of thousands of workers in the above-mentioned communes and Con Dao special zone in Ho Chi Minh City to enjoy a higher regional minimum wage; and at the same time helping millions of workers across the country doing jobs or titles with heavy, hazardous, and dangerous working conditions to receive wages at least 5% higher; jobs or titles with particularly heavy, hazardous, and dangerous working conditions to receive wages at least 7% higher than the salary of jobs or titles with equivalent complexity, working in normal working conditions, compared to the previous draft regulations on regional minimum wages.
At the same time, these reflections also contribute to stabilizing labor relations, limiting the impact on the production and business activities of enterprises and social security and order in Ho Chi Minh City. Through this incident, Lao Dong Newspaper has performed the function of protecting workers early and remotely by the trade union organization.
