Vietnamese firms fear post-New Year labour shortage - leatherbiz: Lead Leatherbiz

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Vietnamese firms fear post-New Year labour shortage

31/01/2011
The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association Lefaso has said that large companies involved in leather production and leather footwear manufacture, particularly in the south of the country, are fearful of a serious labour shortage after the upcoming holiday for Lunar New Year. The official holiday dates this year in Vietnam are February 2–5, but there is a concern that large numbers of workers may not return from smaller communities in the north afterwards.

Large footwear manufacturers are responsible for 70% of Vietnam’s total leather sector export earnings and 40% of these firms are in the Ho Chi Minh City region, 25% in Binh Duong and 11% in Dong Nai, all in the south.

One manufacturer in Binh Duong province, Dong Hung, has a workforce of 3,000 people and has been working flat out to meet export orders it must deliver midway through 2011. One of the company’s directors has told Vietnamese media that Dong Hung is confident of being able to recruit new workers to replace any who fail to return after New Year, but that training new people during this busy period will have an impact on productivity.

Workers from rural communities have complained of high living costs in areas such as Ho Chi Minh City and have said that even if a job closer to home pays less, the money goes further. Employers have said that rising raw materials prices make it difficult for them to put wages up at the moment.


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