Textile firms expect workers to return after Tet
By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Most textile and garment enterprises in HCMC are anxiously waiting for their employees’ return after Tet holiday break to timely resume production activities, said Pham Xuan Hong, vice chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.
Speaking to the Daily on Sunday, Hong said most textile firms chose this Wednesday, the tenth day of Lunar New Year, to restart their production, but not many workers have come back so far.
Hong hoped there would be no major upheavals in the labor force after Tet, as employers have provided support for their workers to go back to hometowns for Tet celebrations.
HCMC is home to many textile and garment enterprises with the total labor force of 500,000 people, most of whom are from other provinces. The average salary for a textile worker is some VND3-5 million a month.
Hong added the majority of textile and garment companies had export orders until the end of the first quarter, thus expecting their employees to come back soon.
Saigon Garment 3 Joint Stock Company, where Hong serves as whose chairman, will also kick off a new year of production this Wednesday.