Mistakes when starting a new job

The Hanoitimes - A no-rise in minimum wage would create conditions for enterprises to recover and workers keeping their jobs, stated the labor ministry. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has rejected two proposals from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor for a rise in the region-based minimum wage in 2021. The information was unveiled in a MoLISA’s document seeking opinions from government agencies and business associations. A report would later be submitted to the government before March 10 related to the issue. Workers at Garment 10 Company. Photo: Thanh Hai In addition to keeping the region-based minimum wage unchanged for this year, the MoLISA said the timing for effective wage rise should not be moved from January 1 to July 1, citing international practices that the period for wage adjustment needs to coincide with the start of a fiscal year (starting from January 1 to December 31 in case of Vietnam) for enterprises to set up their business plan. “This is also the time for workers to negotiate wage policies with their employers, so moving the date to July 1 would be inconvenient for all parties involved,” stated the MoLISA. The National Salary Council previously said it would not consider a rise in the region-based minimum wage in 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam's region-based minimum wage. According to the MoLISA, a wage rise at a time of severe Covid-19 impacts would affect workers’ job security, not yet mentioning the majority of enterprises are still struggling to keep business running. With nearly 101,700 enterprises temporarily suspending operations in 2020, or nearly 8,500 enterprises leaving the market every month, an increase of nearly 14% year-on-year, “it would take a longer period for business and production activities to return to their pre-Covid-19 level,” stated the ministry. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate also surged to a …

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The Hanoitimes - Vietnam rushes to prepare manpower in a goal of training 2 million people at vocational schools. The US plan to place tariffs on additional US$300 billion worth of Chinese goods has sparked the relocation of multinational companies from China to Vietnam, and such relocation plans raise the question of what Vietnam acts to accommodate influx of companies in the unpredicted trade conflicts between the world’s largest economies. Textile workers. Illustrative photo The Vietnamese government has a goal of training 2 million people in vocational schools to meet the growing demand for technical skills among multinational companies, according to CNBC. More than 90% of students trained in technical skills, such as welding or making electronics, can get hired, Professor Nguyen Quang Huy told CNBC, adding that it’s very easy to get a job, and a lot of companies need more people. The country’s middle class is growing to reach around 44 million by 2020, and the figure will be more than doubled by 2030. In addition, more than a million people are added to the workforce annually, giving the country a “golden population structure”, according to Singapore-based private holding company Kusto Group. Engineers. Illustrative photo Meanwhile, beneficial firms in Vietnam, mostly apparel and shoe makers, are starting to grow to meet higher requirements. Textile firm TNG Investment & Trading told CNBC that it’s never seen an expansion like this before. Last year, the firm hired 3,000 employees, bringing its total to 15,000. The expansion has required TNG to build an apartment complex to accommodate the additional employees. The company needs to build a home for the people than actually building a factory to retain high-skilled workers for long strategies, according to TNG’s Linh Nguyen. The aforementioned moves are part of preparations for the upcoming demand. In fact, multinational companies are …

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More than 70 per cent of Việt Nam’s working-age women are in the labour force. Photo ILO Vietnam HÀ NỘI – With a remarkably high labour market participation rate, women in  Việt Nam face multiple and persistent labour market inequalities, and carry a disproportionate double burden of work and family responsibilities, researchers have revealed. A new research brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Việt Nam shows the COVID-19 pandemic has not only exacerbated existing inequalities but created new gender gaps. More than 70 per cent of Việt Nam’s working-age women are in the labour force, compared to the global level of 47.2 per cent and an average of 43.9 per cent in Asia and the Pacific. While the gender gap in labour force participation is narrower in Việt Nam than in the world, it has still stood at 9.5 percentage points (men’s rate higher than women’s) over the last decade. According to the research brief 'Gender and the labour market in Viet Nam: An analysis based on the Labour Force Survey' , uneven distribution of family responsibilities in Việt Nam’s society could be the reason for the disparity. Nearly half of the women who were not economically active in the 2018 Labour Force Survey made this choice because of “personal or family-related reasons”, compared to only 18.9 per cent of inactive men. The research also indicated that the high labour force participation of women in Việt Nam should not be interpreted as an indicator of equal opportunity. “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, both women and men had a relatively easy access to jobs, but the quality of such jobs was on average lower among women than among men,” said Valentina Barcucci, ILO Việt Nam Labour Economist, lead author of the research. Female workers were overrepresented in vulnerable employment, particularly in contributing to family work. They earned less than men (by 13.7 per cent on monthly wages in 2019), despite comparable working hours and the …

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