Tet gifts for workers come with credit card requirement

[That doesn’t look like a Tet gift, but a marketing solicitation for the finance firm – PTH]

VNE – By Le Tuyet   January 28, 2024 | 11:00 am GMT+7

Workers purchase products at a cashless Tet market event organized by the HCMC union, Jan. 22, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

Workers at several unions have been told they will receive Tet gifts worth VND300,000 ($12), under the condition that they open a credit card with a finance firm.

Earlier this month, Tuan, president of a workers’ union in Dong Nai Province, received 150 Tet gifts, each worth around VND300,000, from the General Confederation of Labor.

However, instead of cash, transactions or physical products, workers were required to open an account at the HD Saison financial company, fill in information, download the app and open a credit card with a VND5 million limit. Workers were instructed to purchase products on e-commerce platforms, Tuan added.

Tiếp tục đọc “Tet gifts for workers come with credit card requirement”

Cuối năm ‘chợ người’ đốt lửa chờ việc

TT – 21/12/2023 09:30 GMT+7 – TÂM LÊ

Họ nghèo khó, ngày ngày ngóng việc, ai gọi làm gì thì đi, ai nhờ gì thì làm nấy. Mấy hôm nay Hà Nội mưa rét thấu xương, họ vẫn gắng ra đứng ở “chợ người” đốt lửa chờ việc đến mình để mong có suất cơm đầy cho vợ con.

Mang theo củi sưởi ấm để ngóng việc ở “chợ người” – Ảnh: TÂM LÊ

Sắp 7h sáng, trời Hà Nội vẫn còn mù tối, mưa phùn khiến rét càng thêm tê tái. Ở khu chợ đặc biệt này bắt đầu xuất hiện những người mang theo một khúc củi chống rét để ngóng việc.

Thằng con út tôi sinh năm nào thì tôi ra chợ người Hà Nội năm đó, giờ nó 23 tuổi rồi, thời gian nhanh quá.

Ông LÊ ĐÌNH VĂN

Tiếp tục đọc “Cuối năm ‘chợ người’ đốt lửa chờ việc”

Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province

(Sen Nguyen is a Vietnamese journalist – the author of this article won the 2023 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration, hosted by the International Labour Organization - ILO. Her entry, titled “Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province” published in Al Jazeera, was chosen out of more than 400 entries from 85 countries. SeeILO‘s announcement here)

Aljazeera.com

39 Vietnamese people died being smuggled into the UK in 2019. Most were from Nghe An province.

Hoang Thi Ai holds up her phone showing a photo of her son Hoang Van Tiep, who she fears is one of the possible victims in the truck deaths in England, at her home in Dien Chau district, Nghe An province, Vietnam on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. Families in central Vietnam continue to cling on hope for the fates of their loved ones, who might be among the dead in a truck in southern England. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Hoang Thi Ai holds up her phone showing a photo of her son, Hoang Van Tiep, who she later discovered was among the 39 people who were found dead in a truck container in Essex, the UK, in 2019 [File: Hau Dinh/AP Photo]

By Sen Nguyen Published On 20 Jul 202320 Jul 2023

In late October 2019, ambulance crews in the United Kingdom were called to a scene of horror.

On a quiet road in a nondescript industrial park in Essex, the bodies of 39 people were found when the heavy steel doors of a refrigerated truck trailer were opened.

The victims had suffocated. Death came slowly as oxygen levels inside the airtight container depleted for the 28 men, eight women and three children as their attempt to be smuggled into the UK ended tragically.

The youngest were two 15-year-olds. All were from Vietnam and the majority were from one province – Nghe An.

“I’m sorry Dad and Mum,” 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My tapped out in a final text message she composed for her parents.

“Mum, I love Dad and you so much. I’m dying because I can’t breathe … I am so sorry, Mum,” she wrote in a phone message that was widely reported on at the time.

The message was delivered long before her death was officially confirmed by police investigators in the UK.

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.609.1_en.html#goog_1289999290Play Video

Video Duration 01 minutes 41 seconds01:41Vietnamese family fears their daughter may be among Essex victims

In 2021, seven people were jailed in the UK for a total of 92 years for their role in the deaths of the 39. This week, an eighth suspect, described as a “right-hand man” in the smuggling ring, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison by a UK court.

Tiếp tục đọc “Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province”

Garment giant in worker purge says more it produces, higher the losses

VNE – By Tat Dat   December 5, 2023 | 08:58 am GMT+7

Workers at a garment and textile factory in Tan Do Industrial Park in the southern province of Long An. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Garmex Saigon Corporation, which recently laid off 1,945 workers, told the Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange its losses have been increasing in direct proportion to output.

“We have reorganized our setup, cut our payroll, and temporarily ceased production to minimize losses,” CEO Nguyen Minh Hang said.

After the layoffs this year, the firm had only 37 employees left at the end of the third quarter.

Tiếp tục đọc “Garment giant in worker purge says more it produces, higher the losses”

Châu Âu: Làn sóng di cư tiếp tục đẩy phong trào cực hữu lên cao

ANTG – Thứ Tư, 29/11/2023, 15:35

Tình trạng di cư gia tăng trên khắp châu Âu, bao gồm cả sự gia tăng lớn nhất về số người xin tị nạn kể từ cuộc khủng hoảng di cư 2015-2016, đang thúc đẩy sự ủng hộ đối với các đảng cực hữu chống nhập cư, từ đó có khả năng định hình lại nền chính trị châu Âu trong nhiều năm tới.

Từ điểm nhấn mới nhất tại Hà Lan…

Sự ủng hộ dành cho đảng theo chủ nghĩa dân tộc ủng hộ đường lối cứng rắn hơn chống nhập cư đang tăng mạnh trong các cuộc thăm dò dư luận ở châu Âu gần đây. Và, những đảng này cũng đã tham gia vào chính phủ  ở các nước, từ Italy cho đến Phần Lan, khi mối lo ngại về tốc độ tăng trưởng kinh tế chậm chạp cũng như ảnh hưởng từ cuộc xung đột tại Ukraine và Trung Đông gia tăng.

Chính trị gia cực hữu Geert Wilders bày tỏ sự vui mừng khi đảng của ông giành thắng lợi trong cuộc bầu cử Quốc hội Hà Lan. Ảnh: BBC

Tiếp tục đọc “Châu Âu: Làn sóng di cư tiếp tục đẩy phong trào cực hữu lên cao”

35 năm FDI – 5 bài

Vị thế FDI tại Việt Nam sau 35 năm mở cửa

VNE – Thứ hai, 20/11/2023, 06:00

Hàng trăm tỷ USD đầu tư trực tiếp nước ngoài trở thành động lực tăng trưởng của Việt Nam nhiều năm qua, nhưng cũng khiến kinh tế trong nước ngày càng phụ thuộc vào ngoại lực.

Từ con số 2 triệu USD, Việt Nam đã thu hút 524 tỷ USD vốn đăng ký FDI sau 35 năm. Đến hết năm 2022, hơn 36.000 dự án đang hoạt động với tổng vốn 441 tỷ USD, đã giải ngân 57%.

Ba làn sóng đầu tư nước ngoài tại Việt Nam sau 35 năm

Tiếp tục đọc “35 năm FDI – 5 bài”

Workers’ movements around the world protest supply of arms to Israel

>> Belgian port workers refuse to load weapons bound for Israel

>> Pro-Palestine activists in Melbourne disrupt Israeli shipping company

>> Protesters Block Entrance to U.S. Port Over Weapons Transfers to Israel

peopledispatch.org

Trade unions, youth movements, and Palestine solidarity groups have organized protests and blockades across Europe, opposing the role of their governments in Israel’s genocidal war on PalestiniansNovember 03, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch

Trade unionists of PAME carry out flash protest inside Athens International Airport (Photo: PAME)

As Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza continues unabated for the fourth week straight, workers across Europe have stepped up their solidarity with Palestine and organized resistance to the supply of arms from various parts of the continent to Israel.

On Thursday, November 2, Greek trade unionists from the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) held a flash protest inside the Athens International Airport in solidarity with Palestine. The protest started in front of the offices of the Israeli airline El Al with protesters then marching inside the airport denouncing the genocidal war against Palestinians.

In their statement, PAME harshly criticized Israeli war crimes in Gaza. “No one can remain silent when the death toll from Israeli bombing in Gaza exceeds 8,000, including over 3000 children and over 1000 women,” PAME said.

“No one can remain silent when a child is killed in Gaza every 10 minutes. No one can remain silent when there are more than 15,000 wounded in Gaza without the necessary treatment because of the suffocating blockade by the murderer state of Israel.”

PAME has also demanded that the Greek government stop all economic, political, and military cooperation with Israel. The union called for an end to the facilitation of bases and other infrastructure by Greece to the US, NATO, and Israel.

PAME has also called for the immediate recognition of the Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, on October 31, transport unions in Belgium including the Belgian Union of Transport Workers (BTB), BBTK, ACV-Transcom, and ACV Puls issued a joint statement announcing their resolve to refuse loading or unloading weapons in transit to Israel, which are destined for the genocidal war against the Palestinians.

In their statement, the trade unions said that while genocide is taking place in Palestine, workers at various airports in Belgium note the arrival of arms shipments to the conflict zone. Workers’ participation in loading or unloading these weapons “means supporting regimes that kill innocent people,” the statement said.

In the UK, on October 31, activists from Palestine Action blockaded the road to the headquarters of Elbit Systems in Bristol, notorious for manufacturing parts for Israeli drones and other pilotless aircraft.

DKU activist blocading Terma A/S in Soborg (Photo: DKU)

On October 30, in Demark, activists from various anti-war groups including the Communist Youth of Denmark (DKU), blocked all entrances to the Søborg plant of the Danish arms company, Terma, in protest against its sale of weapons and equipment to the Israeli Defense Forces.

According to reports, the Aarhus-based defense contractor supplies Israel with equipment for F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, which Israel uses to bomb Gaza. Terma has also been accused of sending arms for the war in Yemen.

During the blockade at Terma, DKU members hung up blood-stained children’s clothes to symbolize the consequences of Terma’s bloody business for civilians in Palestine.

Dagbladet Arbejderen has reported that the protestors have demanded that authorities publish all information about Terma’s activities and disseminate that information in a way that allows the people of Denmark to understand exactly what the company is doing.

They also demanded and end to the manufacturing of weapons parts used by the Israeli military and the termination of their agreements with F35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which supplies the Israeli genocidal apparatus.

As of November 3, the ongoing genocidal war carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 7, has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 people, wounded more than 30,000 people, and displaced over 1.4 million.

Tech layoff wave spreads to Vietnam

VNE – By Nguyen Hang   November 6, 2023 | 06:00 am GMT+7

A programmer works on computers in an IT office. Photo by Shutterstock/ProStockStudio

Having worked for a large foreign technology corporation in Hanoi for more than five years, data analysis expert Le Thai Ha was shocked to get suddenly fired recently.

“Because the tech market has fluctuated a lot, our corporation officially announced a mass layoff, mostly of senior positions, including mine,” she said.

Despite being aware of the difficulties of the market in general, and of the corporation in particular, its decision to cut back was still a big surprise to Ha.

Tiếp tục đọc “Tech layoff wave spreads to Vietnam”

Improving safety and health at every step of the coffee supply chain in Viet Nam

This video provides an introduction on the ILO Vision Zero Fund’s work to promote workplace safety and health on coffee farms in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam through training and collective action. In doing so, the project engages with national and international partners, including multi-national companies and NGOs. Farmers appreciate the training approach and share their learning and good practices for workplace improvements with other farmers in their community which promotes sustainability and scaling.

Date issued: 01 October 2023 | Size/duration: 00:07:38

Việt Nam có tỷ lệ người khuyết tật cao trên tổng dân số trong khu vực

vietnamplus.vn

Phần lớn người khuyết tật Việt Nam sống ở vùng nông thôn, có cuộc sống rất khó khăn, đặc biệt là người khuyết tật bị ảnh hưởng bởi chất độc da cam/dioxin trong chiến tranh

Lễ kỷ niệm 30 năm Ngày Quốc tế về người khuyết tật (3/12). (Ảnh: Hoàng Hiếu/TTXVN)

Lễ kỷ niệm 30 năm Ngày Quốc tế về người khuyết tật (3/12). (Ảnh: Hoàng Hiếu/TTXVN)

Hiện nay Việt Nam có khoảng 7 triệu người khuyết tật, chiếm hơn 7,06% dân số từ 2 tuổi trở lên, trong đó người khuyết tật nặng và đặc biệt nặng chiếm khoảng 28,9%, khoảng 10% người khuyết tật thuộc hộ nghèo. Số liệu này cho thấy, Việt Nam là một trong những nước có tỷ lệ người khuyết tật khá cao so với tổng dân số trong khu vực châu Á-Thái Bình Dương.

Đây là thông tin được đưa ra tại lễ kỷ niệm 30 năm Ngày Quốc tế về người khuyết tật (3/12) và diễn đàn “Lắng nghe tiếng nói của người khuyết tật” do Ủy ban quốc gia về người khuyết tật Việt Nam, Chương trình phát triển của Liên hợp quốc (UNDP) và Hội Người khuyết tật thành phố Hà Nội phối hợp tổ chức hôm nay 1/12.

Tiếp tục đọc “Việt Nam có tỷ lệ người khuyết tật cao trên tổng dân số trong khu vực”

Four Asian nations to lose $65bn this decade as heat and flooding shock clothing industry (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam)

Independent.co.uk

Researchers call on brands to invest in adaptation measures instead of mitigation

https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/XzNy1PQ3

Extreme heat and flooding could erase $65bn in apparel export earnings from four Asian countries by 2030 as it jeopardises the health of the workers, new research has revealed.

The slow growth from extreme climate conditions will also result in one million fewer jobs being created, found the study by Cornell University and Schroders.

The research mapped out the climate vulnerability of 32 apparel production hubs of six global brands in BangladeshCambodiaPakistan and Vietnam. It found flooding and heat pose material risks to entire fashion industry, leading to a 22 per cent decline in export earnings.

These projections are expected to rise significantly by 2050, representing about 69 per cent in foregone export earnings and 8.64 million fewer jobs, warned the researchers.

But brands, investors or regulators are not prioritising in planning for these risks in the countries that collectively represent 18 per cent of global apparel export due to the industry’s focus on mitigation rather than adaptation measures, said the study.

Tiếp tục đọc “Four Asian nations to lose $65bn this decade as heat and flooding shock clothing industry (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam)”

H&M says it will “phase out” sourcing from Myanmar

reuters.com

August 17, 20238:38 PM GMT+7Updated 6 days ago

Workers tailor and arrange clothing at a garment factory at Hlaing Tar Yar industry zone in Yangon

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer H&M (HMb.ST) has decided to gradually stop sourcing from Myanmar, it told Reuters on Thursday, as reports of labour abuses in garment factories in the country increase.

H&M became the latest brand to cut ties with suppliers in the country after Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), Primark (ABF.L), Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) and others.

“After careful consideration we have now taken the decision to gradually phase out our operations in Myanmar,” H&M said in an email to Reuters.

“We have been monitoring the latest developments in Myanmar very closely and we see increased challenges to conduct our operations according to our standards and requirements.”

Despite reforms, mining for EV metals in Congo exacts steep cost on workers

washingtonpost.com
After revelations of child labor and treacherous conditions in many cobalt mines, automakers and mineral companies said they would adhere to international safety standards

The Shabara artisanal mine, where cobalt and copper are dug out by hand, near the Congolese boomtown of Kolwezi.

By Katharine Houreld and  Arlette Bashizi

Aug. 4 at 5:00 p.m.

Correspondent Katharine Houreld and photographer Arlette Bashizi traveled together across southeastern Congo, visiting industrial and artisanal mines in the country’s three largest cobalt mining towns. Houreld is The Washington Post’s East Africa bureau chief, based in Nairobi, with responsibilities stretching from the Horn of Africa to the continent’s southern tip. Bashizi is a Congolese photographer, based in Goma, focusing on issues related to health, environment and culture.

FUNGURUME, Democratic Republic of Congo — Alain Kasongo, burly and goateed, worked for four years driving the heavy trucks that hauled away tons of cobalt ore from a gaping hole at one of the biggest mines in Congo. The vibrations from the equipment and the jolts of driving over rough ground during his 12-hour shifts could be bone-rattling, he said. Finally, the pain in his spine grew so unbearable that he needed surgery.

His older brother, Patchou Kasongo Mutuka, worked the same job at the same mine. He suffered the same injury and required the same surgery — as did 13 other drivers of excavators and trucks at the mine who were interviewed. They lifted their shirts to reveal surgical scars and spread out carefully folded medical records confirming their accounts. They in turn named seven more colleagues who had suffered the same fate, all within a two-year period.

“It hurt so badly when I went home, I would lie awake at night,” said Alain Kasongo, 43, displaying bumps and ridges on his body from what he said were three operations.

Tiếp tục đọc “Despite reforms, mining for EV metals in Congo exacts steep cost on workers”

Cần xác định lực lượng “ve chai, đồng nát” là một nghề để có cơ chế hỗ trợ phù hợp

vneconomy.com

Lực lượng lao động phi chính thức đóng vai trò hết sức quan trọng trong hệ thống thu gom rác thải, vì theo ước tính hơn 30% lượng rác thải được thu gom thông qua kênh này. Vai trò và nhu cầu của nghề ve chai, đồng cần được hiểu rõ để chuẩn bị cho sự tham gia của họ vào khung chính sách…

Cân nhắc nghiên cứu và xem hoạt động kinh doanh phế liệu là một ngành chính thức.
Cân nhắc nghiên cứu và xem hoạt động kinh doanh phế liệu là một ngành chính thức.

Đề xuất tại hội thảo “Chia sẻ kinh nghiệm từ các Dự án thí điểm cùng với các nữ lao động phi chính thức tại Việt Nam”, đại diện Enda Vietnam cho rằng, cần cân nhắc nghiên cứu và xem hoạt động kinh doanh phế liệu là một ngành chính thức.

Tiếp tục đọc “Cần xác định lực lượng “ve chai, đồng nát” là một nghề để có cơ chế hỗ trợ phù hợp”

Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province

Hoang Thi Ai holds up her phone showing a photo of her son Hoang Van Tiep, who she fears is one of the possible victims in the truck deaths in England, at her home in Dien Chau district, Nghe An province, Vietnam on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. Families in central Vietnam continue to cling on hope for the fates of their loved ones, who might be among the dead in a truck in southern England. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Hoang Thi Ai holds up her phone showing a photo of her son, Hoang Van Tiep, who she later discovered was among the 39 people who were found dead in a truck container in Essex, the UK, in 2019 [File: Hau Dinh/AP Photo]

By Sen Nguyen

Published On 20 Jul 202320 Jul 2023

In late October 2019, ambulance crews in the United Kingdom were called to a scene of horror.

On a quiet road in a nondescript industrial park in Essex, the bodies of 39 people were found when the heavy steel doors of a refrigerated truck trailer were opened.

The victims had suffocated. Death came slowly as oxygen levels inside the airtight container depleted for the 28 men, eight women and three children as their attempt to be smuggled into the UK ended tragically.

The youngest were two 15-year-olds. All were from Vietnam and the majority were from one province – Nghe An.

“I’m sorry Dad and Mum,” 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My tapped out in a final text message she composed for her parents.

Tiếp tục đọc “Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province”