Year-end job loss – a hard nut to crack

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, 26 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City recently announced plans to lay off nearly 3,000 labourers out of a total of 15,000 workers. Some local enterprises moved to cut working hours in order to maintain production.

Meanwhile, a number of large enterprises specialising in wood, textile, and leather manufacturing based in Binh Duong, an industrial hub in the south, stopped increasing work shifts and halted offering hours on Saturdays due to a sharp decrease in orders. In neighbouring Dong Nai province, roughly 30,000 employees also lost their jobs due to difficulties in export activities.

In an interview granted to VOV.VN, Dao Quang Vinh, director of the Institute of Labour and Social Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, said enterprises have been feeling the pinch as global consumers are tightening their belts, and the situation is anticipated to last for several months moving forward.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic brought under control, we all expected businesses would gradually recover from the COVID-19 crisis, but they are now suffering another shock – that it is the global economic turmoil. Rising inflation globally has reduced consumption demand, resulting in a supply chain disruption and a sharp fall in orders,” explained Vinh.

“Normally, businesses pool all resources for production in the fourth quarter of the year, including working overtime, to meet export orders. But this year’s situation is quite different from the previous years, and this may continue to last till the first or second quarters of next year,” he added.

Given the current context, Vinh said policies on the labour market and social security should immediately be implemented as a means of retaining employees and ensuring their rights.

“Besides solutions to be introduced to help businesses maintain production, expand the market and get more orders, we need to implement support packages for workers and businesses as we did during the pandemic to help businesses continue to hold out, retain employees, and have credit sources to pay workers’ wages,” he suggested.

The director also suggested that laid-off workers should have a minimum income to make ends meet, with this budget potentially being sourced from an unemployment fund. In addition, policies should be introduced to train workers so that they can learn new skills and find seasonal jobs.

In his opinion, the labour market is projected to endure a period of difficulties over the coming months, and both businesses and employees have no chance but to endure great pains to get through this volatile period.

According to the Department of Employment under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the current difficulties are mainly occurring in labour-intensive industries such as garment, leather and footwear, as well as woodwork. Some firms are trying to avoid laying off workers by giving their staff alternate leave, or offering labourers a longer Lunar New Year holiday than usual as they await new orders. In these circumstances employees still lead a hard life in the context of high prices of consumer goods coupled with inflation.