Strike Wave in Vietnam, 2006–2011

Abstract

Vietnam has witnessed more strikes than any other Asian country in the past decade, despite its vibrant economy. However, this regular industrial action has not deterred foreign investors from setting up manufacturing facilities in the country, as wages are about half those of China. Beneath the wildcat strike culture lies a deterioration in living standards to the extent that some Vietnamese workers have to conserve energy due to inadequate food and malnutrition. The article presents an analysis of more than a decade of strikes in Vietnam, moving from a period of relative industrial peace to a strike wave. Using statistical data, it argues that the Vietnamese state's macroeconomic policy and inability to control inflation are partly responsible for the country's deteriorating conditions, as is capital exploitation. Foreign investors are increasing impatience with these labour disturbances and are relentlessly pressuring the Vietnamese government to suppress strikes, but thus far the Vietnamese government has shown no signs of doing so.

From Asian to Global Financial Crisis: Recovery Amidst Expanding Labour Precarity

“…In Malaysia, the Malaysian Trade Union Congress became divided from the late 1990s, with a reformasi wing aligning with the political opposition and raising non-traditional labour issues such as social protection for all. In Vietnam, the state appeared helpless when a wave of wildcat strikes hit the country's growing export processing zones in the mid-2000s (see Siu and Chan 2014). The strikes were not linked with the official Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, whose members are based primarily in the shrinking state-owned enterprises.…”

The Regional Coordination of Strikes and the Challenge for Union Reform in Vietnam

“…Like Vietnam, China has also been faced with the failure of its formal labour relations institutions, and the emergence of wildcat strikes.Yet, while the Chinese authorities react aggressively to unconstitutional strikes, their Vietnam counterparts take a more sympathetic approach to labour strikes (Siu and Chan, ). In one of the first studies on industrial relations in Vietnam, Beresford () stated that the local authorities tended to prioritize foreign investment, which was why they were likely to avoid interfering in disputes between workers and employers in FIEs.…”

“…However, as Tran () rightly pointed out, workers in domestic companies are much less likely to strike than workers in the foreign‐owned sector, even though their working conditions are no better. Proponents of the class consciousness and cultural identity approach tried to explain why Vietnamese workers in the foreign‐owned sector were able to mobilize for collective actions while those in domestic workplaces could not (Siu and Chan, ; Tran, ). Although this approach can explain how solidarity for labour activism was built through workers’ rising consciousness of class, based on their inter‐connection using their various elements of cultural identity, it does not explain why the levels of organization of workers varied between different companies, nor does it explore the existence of coordination and linkages between different strikes in the same region and industry.…”

“…Siu and Chan () and Tran () discuss the waves of minimum‐wage strikes in the southern provinces of Vietnam and point out the ‘contagion’ of strikes from one company to others, but they do not establish any linkages between these strikes.…”

Reasons Are Given for the Current Wildcat Strikes in Vietnam: The Blue-Collar Workers' Perspective

“…This article begins with a short review of the literature regarding the wildcat strikes in Vietnam. Many of the researchers reported that from 1995 to 2005, there were 978 recorded strikes (Clarke, Lee, & Chi, 2007) and in 2011 the number reached the peak at 857 ones, which is the highest number recorded since the release of official strike figures (Siu & Chan, 2015). According to official government statistics, there have been an estimated 300-500 recorded strikes per year since the mid-2000s (Anner, 2017).…”