Province of northern Vietnam in the Thanh Hoa, around 6,000 garment workers went on strike yesterday. ‘The company S&H Vina Co. Ltd. treated in an inhumane manner in addition to imposing several unreasonable regulations on them,’ the workers claimed.
The strike started when some workers placed an old fabric on the floor after lunch time to relax. The supervisor immediately reprimanded and asked them to sit on the hard floor. Over 2,000 workers straightaway stopped working. Soon, around 4,000 workers too joined the protest.
The workers continued the strike and presented the company a list of demands that included salary hike, benefits for children and bonus for senior employees. Proper travel allowances, appropriate maternity leaves as well as removal of penalty in case any worker is not able to come to the company due to ill health are also amongst the demands placed.
At present, the workers have to serve a 3-day notice to avail sick leave or take a leave in case of death in a family. The workers get only 1 paid leave every month. The unreasonable laws of the company seem to have infuriated the workers the most.
A meeting was finally organised between the management and the garment workers to resolve the issue in the afternoon. The company has removed the supervisor who was involved in the incident and also assured to consider some of the demands raised by the workers.
– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
