Vietnam

  • Vietnam Targets Leaders of Independent Unions

    Body:

    Human Rights Watch released a report May 4 calling on the Vietnamese government—and the Western multinationals that do business in Vietnam—to end suppression of the country’s independent unions.

    At least five of the most prominent activists organizing independent unions in the country are currently imprisoned on what HRW calls “dubious national security charges.” Some are thought to have been kidnapped by the government’s security forces.

    Between double-digit inflation and stresses caused by the global economic crisis, labor unrest in the country continues to escalate. Thousands of workers, most of them employed at foreign-owned factories, have joined wildcat strikes to demand raises and better working conditions. About 5,000 garment workers struck in January, saying they were docked a month’s pay for an absence.

    Expiration Date:
    Tue, 06/30/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Vietnamese Workers Fight Management Abuses

    Body:

    Close to 4,000 Vietnamese garment workers went on strike in northern Vietnam in early January. The workers protested mistreatment by management at the Taiwanese-owned Sun Jade Company shoe factory in the province of Thanh Hoa.

    Workers claim management has routinely dealt physical abuse and humiliation to workers, a majority of whom are women. Sun Jade management often punished workers for arriving late by refusing to pay the day’s wages, barring entry to the cafeteria for company-provided lunch, and cutting their entry cards in half. They have also been denied leave for an illness or death in the family, losing up to a month’s pay when these situations prevent them from working.

    Expiration Date:
    Sat, 02/28/2009 - 9:59pm