Factory has orders back

Ho Chi Minh City: Orders at many factories are gradually recovering, workers work 8 hours or overtime to help improve income at the end of the year.

For over a month, Ms. Huynh My Truc, who works at Pouyuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Binh Tan District), has been working overtime for 30 minutes every day. If she works regularly, she can earn an extra million VND per month. The money is enough for her to have breakfast and pay for the 6,000 VND daily shuttle bus fare.

"If I work overtime, I don't have to spend my salary, I can save it to raise my children," said Ms. Truc. At the age of 45, she has been with Pouyuen for more than 20 years, with a basic salary of nearly 11 million VND per month. Her husband died early, leaving her to raise two children and her elderly mother alone. In February, when the company began its first round of layoffs of the year, she was always uneasy, afraid that her name would be "called" on the list.

"The day the team leader announced overtime, my worries disappeared," said Ms. Truc. With many years of experience, the female worker believes that overtime is the clearest sign of the factory's recovery in orders.

Workers at Pouyuen Company, Binh Tan District after work, November 2023. Photo: Quynh Tran

Mr. Cu Phat Nghiep, Chairman of the Labor Union of Pouyuen Vietnam Company, said that the factory's orders have gradually recovered. Currently, some factories have arranged for workers to register for 30-60 minutes of overtime on some days of the week.

"Many orders are placed proactively by partners," said the chairman of the union of the city's largest enterprise (currently employing nearly 39,000 workers). According to him, when orders increase, the labor situation of enterprises will be more stable from now until the end of the year. Workers feel secure at work.

Similarly, over the past month, the production atmosphere at Khai Hoan Shoe Manufacturing Joint Stock Company (Binh Chanh) has become bustling again because orders have gradually increased. After a period of having to take turns off work, reduce working hours, and peaking in September when workers had to wait for work because orders dried up, since October, more than 1,100 workers have started working overtime again.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, 34 years old, has been with the company for more than 5 years, said that when there were no orders and income decreased, many colleagues quit their jobs. However, she still tried to stay because even when there was no work, the company still had support for employees.

"If the company tries to keep its employees, it will definitely try to find orders," said Ms. Thanh. Since October, the factory's orders have recovered, and workers have been assigned overtime to meet the schedule. Each month, she works about 30 hours of overtime, earning her about two million VND. In addition, when she works overtime, the company also takes care of dinner, helping her save some money.

The single mother hopes the company will maintain regular work until the end of the year so she can have more money to buy new clothes for her son in the countryside.

Pouyen and Khai Hoan are two of the leather shoe companies that have received orders again. Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, said that the current situation of orders from factories has improved, and many partners have returned to place orders. The reason for the recovery in orders is that the long-standing inventories of brands have decreased and the market is preparing to enter the year-end shopping season. For now, workers have work to do, mainly enough for 8 administrative hours, a few factories have overtime.

Nha Be garment workers are scheduled to work overtime when the factory receives orders again. Photo: An Phuong

Regarding the garment industry, Mr. Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Textile, Embroidery and Knitting Association, informed that the current orders meet 85-90% of the production capacity of factories. The returning orders are mainly small and retail, requiring designs, fashion and very competitive prices. Previously, at the end of the year, garment factories had arranged production schedules until mid-year or the end of the third quarter of the following year.

"Although not as expected in the middle of the year, in the current difficult context, the recovery in orders is a good sign," said Mr. Hong. Recently, many factories had to lay off workers, reduce salaries, and others were forced to lay off workers. More orders help businesses have work to do, keeping workers on the job, especially meaningful when Tet is approaching.

Mr. Hong cited Saigon 3 Garment Company, where he is chairman of the board of directors, where orders are currently at 90% capacity. This helps the factory maintain regular work for workers, keeping them on the job while waiting for the market to fully recover.

"We continue to look for new partners and customers," said Mr. Hong. According to him, the efforts of the relevant departments in connecting with new markets have been somewhat effective. There will still be many difficulties in the coming time, so it is necessary to implement many solutions at the same time to support businesses.

Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City Le Van Thinh said that the production situation in some enterprises has shown positive signs. The garment, footwear and food industries have added orders. Some factories are recruiting new workers and organizing overtime. However, according to the leader of the city's labor sector, the current orders are mainly short-term, serving Christmas and New Year. The upcoming situation is forecast to be difficult.

"In this context, any company that works overtime is a happy one for the workers," said Mr. Thinh, adding that after a period of missing orders, workers had to reduce their salaries, and overtime at this time is like a way to compensate for income, especially when Tet is coming.

Le Tuyet

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