Close to 1,000 Eland company workers go on strike for higher wages in Ho Chi Minh City
On 5 May 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, close to 1,000 workers from the Korean-owned E-land Company went on strike to demand higher wages and a better system of benefits. Workers said that their monthly wage of 1.500.000 to 1.800.000 Dong is not enough to cover their basic living expenses. They also complained about the child-rearing subsidy is too low, and benefits such as motorbike parking allowances and holiday benefits are inadequate.
Most workers returned to work at midday on the day of the strike, after management agreed to increase wages.
Interestingly, the strike occurred just after employees from the E-land trade union (and its subsidiary New Core) came to Hong Kong to garner support for their long-running dispute against E-land in Korea (see Transnational Workers’ Alliance Vs. Transnational Corporations, page 5). After more than 1,000 non-regular workers were unfairly dismissed in June 2007, other E-land employees went on strike in solidarity. Almost a year later, E-land still refuses to negotiate. A small number of workers are still striking in Korea.
Source: Nguoi Lao Dong, 5 May 2008