Dong Nai Province Successfully Arranges Accommodation for Workers

 

Investment projects into Dong Nai Province are increasing and thus the demand for labour is also on the rise. Nonetheless, the number of immigrated workers tends to decrease, leading to the labour scarcity in industrial parks in Dong Nai Province. Many companies pledge to offer preferential treatments on their recruitment notices, like housing and bus travelling allowance, and attendance bonuses but the labour shortage still occurs. Only a few companies have sent their personnel staffs to rural areas or other provinces to recruit workers but the result has been unsatisfactory. 

 

According to a study, if Dong Nai does not limit labour-intensive and land-demanding projects to attract projects with high technology and grey matter contents or supporting industry projects, it will continue suffering the labour shortage. Many provinces in central and northern regions have built industrial zones, local workers will want to work in industrial parks in their provinces, not move to other localities to seek jobs because they have to spend more on travelling.

 

 

One of the competitive edges in Vietnam is low labour cost while the laws don’t force investors to provide shelters for their employees. Therefore, Vietnam has attracted a lot of investors. But, for the time being, investors have to reconsider the increasingly fierce labour competition in Vietnam. If they want to keep their employees, they must provide shelters. Consequently, foreign investors, especially in labour-intensive projects, begin paying attention to welfares for labourers.

 

Formosa Vietnam Co. is a pioneer in building houses for their workers. After receiving the investment license, Formosa Vietnam quickly carried out construction of infrastructure to put its factories into operation. In parallel with building working offices, thermo-power plants and fibre factories, the company calculated the building of dormitories for its employees.

 

The nine-storey dormitory of Formosa Vietnam has recently been inaugurated in the residential zone in Hiep Phuoc Commune. According to Formosa Vietnam, to do long-termed business in Vietnam, the company not only builds modern and automatic factories but also care about its workers’ lives because workers are also assets of the company. Accordingly, the workers have free domiciles. Each story has a library, a television show hall, a men’s billiard room, a women’s ping-pong room, a 24/24h heated bathing system and a laundry. Each living room has an area of over 23.7 squar meters for six people sleeping on three 2-storey beds. Apart from a popular restaurant, the dormitory also has canteens, post offices, bank offices, hairdressers’, shops and medical centres. This abode supports more than 2,000 workers.  

 

Previously, when building its factories in Phuoc Lai Commune, Long Thanh District, Vedan Vietnam Co. also constructed a hostel for its workers inside its campus. The company also has bus fleets to transport workers and offer three free meals a day. TPC Plastic Co. also built a hostel for its workers in a residential area, about 1 km away from the factory. Choong Nam Dyeing Textile Co. also put up a dormitory for its workers in its factory campus. Taiwan’s Feng Tay Group has invested in a series of shoe factories in Song May, Trang Bom District, and it is preparing to invest US$10 million to build a self-contained hostel for its workers.  

 

However, the number of enterprises building abodes for workers is too few as compared with a total of some 400 operational foreign-invested enterprises in the province. Hopefully, the labour shortage will make employers change the way of thinking about working and living conditions of workers.