1,000 workers back to work at Taiwanese footwear maker after strike

At 7 a.m. Friday, workers of the Viet Gory company in Dien Chau District’s Dien Truong Commune continued to gather at the company’s gates. Around 1,000 entered the company to work. At 7:30 a.m., when the guards closed the gates, around 3,000 left the area.

Ha Huy Dong, president of Dien Chau District Confederation of Labor, said the fact that some workers had returned to work was a good sign. They knew that if they refused to work for over five days, their contracts would be terminated, Dong said.

"The union and authorities will continue to inform and persuade workers, as well as working with the company to ensure mutual benefits," he said, adding that Viet Glory promises to receive workers within the 7:00 a.m.-7:30 a.m. time frame as usual, and all benefits would remain as they are.

From October 2, around 6,000 Viet Glory workers went on strikes to demand certain terms from their employer, such as a raise to their basic salary, adjustments to production quotas, a 13th month salary and reduced meeting frequency.

Viet Glory said the current basic salary was legal, and due to the low numbers of orders it could not be changed. Its workers are receiving monthly wages of VND4.13 million (US$169), based on the area's minimum wage of VND3.64 million.

Of high production quotas which force workers to work long hours, Viet Glory said the quotas had been tested by the technical department and are data-based. The current production quotas of the company are only 50-70% as the quotas of other companies in the same corporation, the company said.

The company said it would use production performances to consider certain workers’ benefits, such as petrol costs, in the future.

Viet Glory manufactures leather footwear for exports and has been in operation since 2019. In 2021-2022, thousands of workers at the company also went on strike twice.