Labor strikes hit 20 FDI firms in Q1

Vietnam recorded 23 labor strikes in the first quarter of this year, down from 64 in the same period of 2022, including 20 at foreign-invested enterprises in the southern region.

The main reasons were disagreements related to wage hikes, payment delay, no Tet (Lunar New Year) bonuses, and lack of compensation during business closures, according to the General Confederation of Labor.

The 23 strikes involved 7,806 workers, or 80.59% of the workforces at relevant businesses.

The confederation anticipated strikes will continue due to economic hardships, especially in the southern region and at foreign-invested enterprises in the sectors of footwear, apparel-textile, and electronics. The anticipated causes are wages and benefits, work safety and hygiene, meals, and arrears related to insurance.

Last week, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said that nearly 294,000 workers left their jobs or had their working hours reduced in Q1 due to a prolonged fall in business orders. However, the figure was down 2,000 versus Q4/2022, a slight improvement.

FIEs accounted for 83.8% of furloughed workers, the GSO added. The highest figures belonged to the central province of Thanh Hoa with 62,400; the southern provinces of Binh Duong with 36,400; Dong Nai with 35,000; Ho Chi Minh City with 19,800; and the northern province of Ninh Binh with 19,700.

The footwear sector accounted for the biggest reduction with 44.2%, followed by apparel-textile with 18.8%.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) reported Vietnam recorded 7,718 labor accidents last year, up 18.66% year-on-year, with 7,923 victims. Total damages from occupational accidents tripled year-on-year to VND14.12 trillion ($602.06 million), including hospital bills, compensations for families of victims, damaged assets, and others.

Vietnam’s unemployment rate fell 0.21 percentage points year-on-year to 2.25% in the first quarter of this year, while its workforce grew to 52.2 million, up by 1.04 million, or 2.03% year-on-year, according to the GSO. As a result, the unemployment rate hit its lowest level since the 2.16% recorded in Q4/2020, the GSO added.