The meeting between Hanoi's officials and companies in the North Thang Long Industrial Zone.

VietNamNet Bridge – “Though Japanese companies aren’t violating Vietnamese laws, we have to say that current salaries are too low. Hanoi calls for employers to increase their workers’ incomes,” said a senior official in a meeting with CEOs of 65 Japanese companies in the North Thang Long Industrial Zone on June 11.

Some strikes have happened at this industrial zone to ask for higher salaries, better allowances and better working or living conditions. The meeting on June 11 between Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Phi Thai Binh and CEOs of 65 companies was to seek solutions for this situation.

At the meeting, Japanese investors expressed their wish to as soon as possible end strikes to stabilise production at their factories. Most of them said the strikes were illegal.

Japanese representatives said that some elements had roused up spread-out strikes in the industrial zone and they asked the government to quell these illegal strikes and ask workers who illegally went on strike to pay compensation.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Hanoi Industrial and Export Processing Zones, said seven strikes at Panasonic, VICO, Nissei, Asahi Intecc, Yamaha Motor, Sumitomo and Chiyodj Intergre have happened because employers aren’t meeting the essential needs of workers.

Specifically, only 34 of 65 companies in the North Thang Long industrial zone have trade unions, 11/65 have payrolls, and 45/65 have labour regulations. These are “gaps” that prevent dialogues between employers and employees, Hoa said.

Hanoi’s Vice Chairwoman Phi Thi Binh said if employers don’t change their policies, spreading strikes will be a big threat, and could harm not only employers and employees but the city as a whole.

(Source: Dan Tri)