Garment firms with more orders have less workers

Most garment and textile enterprises have received orders for production till the end of this year. Over the past two months, all three plants of TNG Thai Nguyen Company have operated at full capacity to deliver their products on time.

TNG Thai Nguyen’s export revenues in the first half of this year surged 31 percent against the same period last year. "Now, our concern is not to seek orders, but to produce items for partners and ship them on time," the company’s chairman Nguyen Van Thoi told VnExpress Thursday.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, chairman of the Hung Yen Garment Company (Hugaco), said if the ongoing fourth wave of Covid-19 is not controlled, garment and textile enterprises would be in trouble because stopping production even for two weeks would sweep away more than 10 percent of their revenues.

"We have continuously received orders from customers in the U.S. and the European Union. Orders are sufficient now. But if enterprises fail to fulfill the contracts in terms of goods delivery, they will be fined," Duong said, adding that buyers can even refuse to receive goods delivered late.

Since production is slow, garment firms may have to transport products by air, instead of by sea, to meet delivery deadlines, he said. They will surely suffer losses then, he added.

"Most of Vietnamese garment and textile enterprises have limited capital. Well-performing firms gain annual profits of just dozens of billions of VND (VND1 billion=$43,300). If they have to cease production, they will lose all of their profits," Duong stated.

Garment and textile firms are also encountering labor shortages caused by a common employment trend in the sector.

In the first half of this year, recruitment demand in the Vietnamese garment and textile sector increased 50-60 percent against the same period last year. However, many people were no longer interested in working in the sector mainly because of low pay, according to recruitment service provider Navigos Group.

Duong said if more workers in the sector were vaccinated against Covid-19, production and export in the second half of this year would happen smoothly. His company is willing to cover the vaccination costs, he added.

Le Tien Truong, chairman of Vietnam National Textile & Garment Group (Vinatex), has proposed that the government prioritizes vaccination for workers laborers in the sector. Vinatex estimates that it needs 300,000 doses of vaccines for 150,000 workers, but only 3,000 people have received the shots so far.

Garment and textile exports rose nearly 15 percent year on year to $15.2 billion in the first half of this year,

In addition to labor shortages fueled by Covid-19 and other consequences of social distancing and lockdowns imposed by affected cities and provinces, garment and textile firms are encountering shortages caused by a common employment trend in the sector.

In the first half of this year, recruitment demand in the Vietnamese garment and textile sector increased 50-60 percent against the same period last year. However, many people were no longer interested in working in the sector mainly because of low pay, according to recruitment service provider Navigos Group.

However, Duong said that if more workers in the sector were vaccinated against Covid-19, production and export in the second half of this year would happen smoothly. His company is willing to cover the vaccination costs, he added.

Le Tien Truong, chairman of Vietnam National Textile & Garment Group (Vinatex), has proposed that the government prioritizes vaccination for workers laborers in the sector. Vinatex estimates that it needs 300,000 doses of vaccines for 150,000 workers, but only 3,000 people have received the shots so far.

Garment and textile exports rose nearly 15 percent year on year to $15.2 billion in the first half of this year, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office. The sector has targeted an export turnover of $39 billion this year.