Companies face worker shortage after Tet holiday

On February 15 most companies resumed normal operation but many workers remained on holiday. Some workers, after receiving their salaries and lunar New Year bonuses, decided to quit, putting companies in a tough spot.

At Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City, nine out of the 10 factories visited by the author of this article were going through a severe labour shortage. Garment producer ICM Ltd is looking for 100 workers, while jewellery producer INAHVINA and Dai Dong Ceramic Ltd. are looking for 50 and 200 workers, respectively.

At Tan Binh Industrial Park, also located in Ho Chi Minh City, companies are looking for thousands of workers. Garment and electronics companies are in the direst need.

“In order to make sure that the workers leaving for their hometowns for the Tet holiday are going to come back, the company arranged buses to take them home, and we keep a part of their Tet bonuses for after they arrive back to work. However, as of now, only 70 per cent of the workers have returned,” said Nguyen Thanh Hung, general director of Tien Loi Garment Co.

Tien Loi has a large contract that needs to be delivered before April 30, so it resumed operation on Saturday February 13. “In order to ensure the progress, we posted advertisements to recruit 50 sewing workers but there is yet to be a single applicant,” Hung said.

Tran Van Thuong, general director of a company that produces machinery parts, reported waves of quitting after the distribution of Tet bonuses. “We do not know where to find workers to replace them,” he said.

Thuong went on to say that the company was forced to increase shifts to keep its scheduled progress. Returning workers now receive higher shift bonuses and the labour union was requested to contact each missing worker to encourage their return.

The Ho Chi Minh City Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market estimated that companies need to fill 19,000 positions after the New Year holiday. Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the centre, said that these postings are mostly for basic labourers and primarily include shipping, security, construction, seafood processing, food processing, and garment-shoe production.

The Dong Nai Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, noted that the demand for workers at companies in the province rose 30 per cent more than after last year’s Tet. As of now, 500 companies in Dong Nai have registered to recruit 31,000 workers.

Tran Thi Huong, president of the labour union of a company located in Amata Industrial Park in Dong Nai, said, “Tet bonus, paying for the transportation to and from workers’ hometowns and New Year lucky money are good ways to bring workers back after Tet. When we resumed operation on February 15, 90 per cent of workers were back. It’s a huge success.”