Pouyuen 'no more job cuts in 2024'

The company with the largest number of workers in Ho Chi Minh City has orders until June 2024 and has no plans to cut more workers, according to grassroots union officials.

On the afternoon of December 1, at the discussion group of the 13th Trade Union Congress, Mr. Cu Phat Nghiep, Chairman of the Trade Union of Pouyuen Company (Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City) said that the company needs to recruit more than 1,000 unskilled workers before Tet.

"We are negotiating with the company about year-end bonuses," he said, adding that during the Lunar New Year, the highest bonus a worker will receive is more than two months' salary, equivalent to VND22 million. This year has been negatively impacted, but the union will try to ensure that workers' Tet bonuses are not reduced compared to last year.

Mr. Cu Phat Nghiep, Chairman of the Pouyuen Company Union (HCMC) attended the 13th Trade Union Congress in Hanoi on the afternoon of December 1. Photo: Hong Chieu

According to Mr. Nghiep, from April to August 2023, Pouyuen Company paid nearly 1,200 billion VND to more than 9,500 workers after three cuts, the highest amount was 468 million VND.

41% of the workers who quit were over 40 years old, the rest were under this age. Before terminating the contract, the union and the company clearly informed the level of support and the workers "voluntarily registered, without coercion".

"The cut at that time was entirely due to a lack of orders, not because we wanted to push older workers away," Mr. Nghiep affirmed.

The company's retrenchment allowance is 0.8 months' salary for each year of service. The payment is calculated as an average of the 6 months immediately preceding the leave. Current law stipulates that the allowance that a company pays to its employees each year is 0.5 times the average salary of the 6 months immediately preceding the leave.

Pouyuen workers at the end of their shift, 2022. Photo: Nhu Quynh

In the past half year, Pouyuen has cut three batches of 9,500 workers in total. The first batch in early April saw the company terminate contracts with 2,300 people. The next batch in May-July saw more than 5,700 workers cut. The final batch in August saw another 1,200 workers cut. Thus, from 2020 to now, the company has had four batches of layoffs totaling more than 12,100 workers.

Pouyuen Vietnam, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Pou Chen Group, specializes in manufacturing and exporting sports shoes, employing more than 110,000 workers, of which about 46,000 are in Ho Chi Minh City. After the cuts, the company has about 40,000 employees.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs assessed that the large number of Pouyuen workers' cuts affected the labor psychology as well as the employment situation in Ho Chi Minh City, but "remained under control".

The group discussion session at the 13th Trade Union Congress aimed to listen to union officials' opinions on prominent issues among workers, such as salary, bonus, and welfare negotiations - one of the three breakthroughs that the congress is aiming for.

Hong Chieu

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