Hanoi - Some 2,000 workers at a Hong Kong-owned furniture and handicrafts company in the Vietnamese city of Nha Trang staged a one-day wildcat strike when they found out their employer-paid insurance had lapsed, company officials said Tuesday. Vo Thanh Son, head of the planning department at the Rapexco Company, confirmed the workers had walked out Monday because their social insurance books had not been stamped for several years. The insurance, which employers must pay for under Vietnamese law, covers basic medical expenses and pensions.
The newspaper Ho Chi Minh City Law reported Tuesday that workers accused the company of not having paid their dues.
Company executives responded they had paid the dues through July, apart from those of 300 workers laid off earlier this year. They blamed the provincial Department of Labour for failing to properly stamp the books.
Late Monday, Department of Labour officials admitted to the striking workers' leaders they had failed to keep proper records due to "lack of human resources." Workers ended the strike after the company and labour officials agreed to bring their social insurance up to date.
Under Vietnamese law, strikes must be approved by local authorities and the government-affiliated national trade union. In practice, virtually all strikes take place without such approval.
Vietnam's high inflation rate of 23 per cent in 2008 led to a rise in strikes from 541 in 2007 to 650 in 2008, according to government figures. Vietnamese media put the number higher, at 762.
