Foreign business owner 'disappears', more than 300 workers call for help

More than 300 workers are extremely worried when the company suddenly laid off workers, owed wages and insurance - Photo: AB

On September 25, the Trade Union of Industrial Parks in Binh Phuoc province is providing legal support to workers who are owed wages and insurance while the foreign business owner is "missing" and cannot be contacted.

Businesses owe salaries and insurance

Previously, on July 11, Signature Home Furnishings LLC (Chon Thanh 1 Industrial Park, Chon Thanh Town) sent a notice of temporary suspension of operations for an unspecified period of time. Workers' June salaries will be paid no later than July 19.

Not only does the company not support workers, it also requires workers to voluntarily submit a resignation letter and commit not to file a lawsuit if they want to receive support in resolving unemployment insurance.

However, more than 2 months have passed and the workers have not received their 40 days’ wages. In addition, the company also owes the workers 3 months of insurance, although every month the workers’ wages are still deducted to pay social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance.

On the other hand, after the company closed, the business owner also “disappeared”. This left more than 300 company workers in dire straits.

Too worried, workers sent petitions to many places to demand their rights.

Mr. Thanh Loi (from Soc Trang) said that in 2020, he and his wife both started working at Signature Home Furnishings Company.

Previously, work and salary were normal. However, last July, the company did not pay the previous month's salary. While the workers were wondering, the company suddenly announced that they would be laid off. After that, the company also closed down.

Due to unpaid wages and sudden job loss, Mr. Loi and his wife's life encountered countless difficulties, especially at the beginning of the school year when they had no money to take care of their children.

Signature Home Furnishings LLC suddenly closed, laid off workers – Photo: AB

Similarly, Ms. Cap Thi Thuan could not help but cry when she was suddenly laid off by the company. At the age of 45, Ms. Thuan had applied for jobs in many places but was unsuccessful. “I hope the authorities will intervene to reclaim the legitimate rights of us workers,” Ms. Thuan said.

Not only are workers owed wages and insurance, they also cannot receive unemployment insurance because the company has not issued a decision to terminate their labor contracts.

Support workers to claim legitimate rights

Regarding this issue, Ms. Tran Le Thi Ngoc Hanh - Vice President of the Trade Union of Industrial Parks in Binh Phuoc Province - said that as soon as receiving the information, the Binh Phuoc Provincial Labor Federation directed the trade unions of industrial parks to step in to support workers.

According to Ms. Hanh, the current difficulty is that the business owner is not present in the locality. The company does not make a decision to terminate the employment, so the issue of resolving the salary, social insurance, and unemployment insurance regimes is very difficult.

The industrial park trade union has supported workers of Signature Home Furnishings Company in submitting petitions to the court and relevant agencies to support workers in claiming their legitimate rights.

Signature Home Furnishings Company Limited is a foreign invested enterprise, operating in the field of manufacturing sofa tables and chairs.

According to the investigation, this company owes more than 300 workers nearly 3.2 billion VND in wages. In addition, the company owes 3 months of workers' insurance worth over 976 million VND, and owes union fees of nearly 2.5 billion VND.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chu-doanh-nghiep-ngoai-mat-tich-hon-300-cong-nhan-keu-cuu-20240925120320462.htm