How to Solve Labor Dispute Issues

Labor disputes resulting in workers’ layoff were due to the demand for salary increase, attendance allowance adjustments, meal quality between shifts, and travel allowances.

The Standing Committee at Dong Nai Labor Federation and levels of labor unions always cooperate with functional agencies and businesses in dealing with strikes and stabilizing the situation.

Workers with meager wages are still, in reality, having to struggle with current soaring prices, which might continue causing more and more complicated labor disputes.

* Workers are still living a hard life

Dong Nai Labor Federation’s report analyzing why labor disputes occurred indicates that the average income is now VND2.9 million per worker in foreign-invested companies, VND2.1 million in domestic companies, and more than VND4.1 million in state-owned companies, but workers’ income, in reality, tends to decrease due to rising prices caused by inflation.

The above income is what a worker earns after working overtime. Only with this salary, they must pay for all necessary things in life while prices of most commodities, fuel, and materials go up.

Surveys conducted at boarding houses in the first half of 2011 show that rent, and electricity, and water costs increased by over VND150,000 per room, by VND1,000 to VND2,000 per kWh, and by over VND2,000 per cubic meter of water.

Workers with a meager salary are still living a difficult life

To respond to urgent demands in their lives, workers with meager make labor disputes happen.

Why labor disputes occur is mainly due to workers’ claims for the increases of salary, and allowances for travel and living, and improvement of meal quality.

Why workers leave their jobs are partly due to their own problems.

There are still many businesses and employers who try to break law, do not comply with legal regulations on the adjustments of salary and hazardous allowances, and do not talk with workers on working overtime.

Many companies have established and registered for payroll scales but have not followed or increased salary as required.

On the other hand, grassroots labor unions at many businesses have not fully developed their responsibilities as a bridge between employees and employers. Thus, employers do not listen to employees’ ideas and deal with information sources in a timely manner.

Therefore, workers’ recommendations have not been dealt with. That is why one day spontaneous strikes break out.

In recent times, the reality shows that 95 labor disputes occurred in foreign-invested companies and 13 disputes in domestic companies, and that more than 50 percent of strikes occurred in companies with grassroots labor unions and Party organs.

There occurred 47 disputes in Bien Hoa Industrial Zone, 38 disputes in Nhon Trach district, and 11 disputes in other regions across the province.

* Feasible solutions:

To solve the above problems, Dong Nai Labor Federation has asked levels of labor unions in the province to promote propaganda plans to help bring policies and laws to workers, laborers, and employers, to fully grasp the situation and promptly report on how policies for employees are implemented, taken initiative to cooperate with local authorities in understanding workers’ wishes and aspirations, and strictly dealt with those who break employment law intentionally.

In addition to cooperating with concerned agencies in offering businesses training classes concerning the adjustments of salaries, in assisting grassroots labor unions with a large number of workers in need of negotiations and them in signing labor agreements, and in strengthening the building of harmonious, stable, and progressive labor relations in companies.

Discussions held at Dong Nai Labor Federation to evaluate the province’s employment situation

So far, 562 businesses have signed a collective labor agreement, accounting for 59.53 percent and approximately 500 ones have self-inspected how employment law is being enforced in their facilities, and 458 others have established labor conciliation councils.

Though those were humble figures compared with a large number of businesses in the province, the figures have shown Dong Nai Labor Federation’s efforts in dealing with labor relations in a harmonious way between employees and employers.

In the forthcoming time, the minimum salary is expected to increase, which will cause challenges for businesses’ production and business activities and make them to cut down allowances added to salaries.

Negotiations and implementation of salary, insurance, and social welfare policies applicable to workers have become more difficult. Thus, labor disputes in the province will continue occurring complicatedly.

To cope with these challenges, Dong Nai Labor Federation has put forward five basic solutions for stabilizing labor disputes.

In particular, it will continue assisting businessmen and grassroots labor unions in settling labor relations through negotiations and talks held at companies, enhancing propaganda plans, and giving instructions on how to enforce labor regulations.

Simultaneously, Dong Nai Labor Federation proposed four groups of solutions to Dong Nai People’s Committee: assisting workers with housing, child care, preschools, public recreation activities in the areas where laborers are settling; completing administration systems gradually; dealing with labor disputes, training the staff in charge of inspection and labor dispute settlement from provincial to grassroots levels in a professional way; giving strict penalties to businesses that have not paid for social insurance.

For one reason or another, labor disputes that result in workers’ current layoff will be likely to decline if problems are solved. It is that workers’ lives are improved and workers can earn as much as what they deserve.

Reported by T.L, Translated by Duy Minh