10,000 footwear workers in Trà Vinh sacked before Tết

TRÀ VINH — A Taiwanese footwear company in the Mekong Delta province of Trà Vinh has announced plans to fire more than 10,000 workers just days ahead of the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, the provincial Labour Union reported.

Mỹ Phong Shoes Ltd. Co., which makes leather shoes for export, decided early this week to terminate the contracts of 10,142 workers from the start of February this year because the company’s partner in the US has gone bankrupt, affecting 70 per cent of its export contracts.

Trần Anh Dũng, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, told zing.vn on Thursday that the company’s management board has agreed to ensure the employees’ rights before they are dismissed. The workers will be given Tết bonuses and their salary for January, and they will receive their February salary after the holiday.

They will be also instructed how to claim social insurance and unemployment benefits.

The company agreed not to sack around 600 workers who are pregnant or on maternal leave.

The Trà Vinh Labour Union has also sent three delegations to the company to support the workers.

The union is working with vocational centres and local companies that need workers to help the dismissed employees find new jobs after the holiday.

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said the agency will hold three job recruitment workshops right after Tết.

According to the department, there are 17 enterprises in the province that need to recruit more than 7,000 workers. There are also many businesses in neighbouring provinces and cities that will need workers after Tết.

Thạch Thị Thu Hà, head of the provincial Labour Union, said Hweseung Vina Ltd. Co. in Đồng Nai Province’s Nhơn Trạch 1 Industrial Zone, which also makes shoes for export, is working with the provincial authorities to recruit 1,000 workers.

Mỹ Phong Shoes Ltd. Co. was set up in 2005. The company, which has three plants in Tiểu Cần and Trà Cú districts, has reduced its workforce to roughly 19,000 workers from 28,000. — Đạt