Illustrative image (Source: VNA)They want the extra money because their basic salary is not enoughto cover their living expenses, the survey said.
Vu Minh Tien, deputy head of the Institute for Workers and TradeUnions at the VGCL, said this is revealed when comparing overtime paymentsbetween workers in the mining industry and in the electronics industry.
Miners, who have a basic salary of 5.2 million VND (230 USD), makean average of only 257,000 VND (11 USD) of overtime pay.
Meanwhile, for those working in the electronics industry, whose averagebasic salary is only 4.2 million VND (186 USD), average payment for overtimewas 1.3 million VND (57 USD)
“We can clearly see that at the end of the day, the total incomesof the two groups are approximately the same – about 5.4 million VND for themining group and 5.5 million VND for the electronics group. But those in theelectronics industry, who have lower basic salary, have to work more extrahours,” Tien said.
The survey also showed that more than 48 percent of those workingin the electronics industry said they want to work overtime, while only 9 percentof those in the mining industry wanted to.
Tien added that a salary survey by the confederation earlier thisyear revealed that most workers didn’t want to work overtime.
“But 35 percent of those asked said they wanted to work overtimebecause they can have the overtime meals,” Tien said.
Nguyen Thi Oanh, 25, a worker from Bac Ninh, said after five yearsworking at a garment factory, she now earns 4.5 million VND (200 USD) a month.
“I am forced to work overtime to make ends meet. I work 12 hours aday, and when I’m finished I’m always exhausted and just want to go home tosleep,” she said.
Mai Duc Chinh, deputy chairman of the VGCL, emphasised that manystudies have proved that working too many extra hours seriously affectsworkers’ health and their productivity.
“They can become fatigued and lose concentration, resulting inlower productivity and working quality. More seriously, working too many extrahours are more prone to heart diseases, headaches and bone diseases,” Chinhsaid.
He mentioned female workers in the aquaculture processing industrywho have to stand for their entire shift.
“When they begin working, their veins are as small as the top of achopstick. When they finish their shift, their veins are as big as a finger.There are many female workers who have to cut off their boots after work totake them off,” he said.
Chinh said many enterprises proritise profits and increaseovertime. Along with this, substandard working conditions contribute tonegative impacts on workers’ health.
“Many companies do not invest in modern and advanced technology toimprove productivity but continue making labourers work overtime to meet theirdeadlines,” he said.
In draft revisions to the 2012 Labour Code, the Ministry ofLabour, Invalid and Social Affairs proposed that Vietnamese employees overtimebe capped at 400 hours per year.
The latest proposal came at the request of many enterprises who haveargued for several years that more overtime is needed to improve productionefficiency, increase workers’ incomes and raise the competitiveness of theVietnamese labour market.
The current limit is 200 extra hours per year, per worker. In someareas like textiles and garments, leather, aquaculture processing,telecommunications, water and power supplies, overtime is capped at 300 hoursper year.-VNA
VNA
