5,000 workers return to work at Taiwanese footwear maker after pay raise

Around 6,000 workers of Viet Glory went on strike from Monday last week to request the firm to meet certain demands, such as a raise to basic salary, adjustments to production quotas, 13th month bonus, among other issues.

On Saturday, Viet Glory adjusted the amounts of petrol and lunch support, with the cost of daily meals rising from VND20,000 to VND24,000, and the daily amount of petrol support rising from VND10,000 to VND15,000.

The company has also doubled the amount of bonuses for meeting production quotas, but has not adjusted workers' salary. The firm argued that the current salary at VND4.13 million (US$169.40) per month is in line with the law, as the minimum wage for the area is VND3.64 million.

"I saw that the increase to our monthly petrol support by VND130,000, and our lunch support by VND104,000, is appropriate and gives us motivation to work. Previously, our total monthly income at less than VND5 million was not enough to live on, so I and everyone else went on strike," a worker said, explaining the reason why they decided to come back on Monday.

Previously on Friday, around 1,000 workers had returned to work.

Viet Glory manufactures mainly leather footwear for exports. It has been operating since 2019. Thousands of workers at the company had gone on strike twice during the 2021-2022 period.

There are around 33 textile and leather shoe companies in Nghe An's Dien Chau District, three of them with foreign investment.