Production activities at Phuc Thinh Packaging Co., Ltd. Photo: T.D

More labor to restore production

To adapt to the new situation and restore production, businesses need to employ more workers, especially units in the fields of textiles, footwear, and wood. The forecasting recruitment trends in the fourth quarter of 2021 and early 2022 by Navigos Group (Vietnam's leading human resource recruitment service provider) showed that large and reputable textile and garment enterprises had a lot of orders. There are companies that have received orders until April 2022 and are recruiting more workers.

Recruitment is forecast to increase due to lots of orders and expansion of production. The vacancies range from skilled workers to operation technicians, and quality control. A representative of Dony Garment Company (Binh Chanh District, HCM City) said, after resuming operations from the beginning of October, the company has consecutively received many orders for the US, Japan, and the Middle East with a total value of about US$2 million.

Currently, orders at the end of the year increase by 30%, and there are many export orders of great value until June next year. Therefore, this unit needs to urgently recruit dozens of workers with many generous incentives to keep up with the production schedule.

To have a source of employees, Dony associated with labor supply units, through acquaintances, and advertised jobs on online job sites and social networks. However, at present, the number of candidates who meet the demand is less than 10%.

Similarly, according to Tran Nhu Tung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thanh Cong Textile garment Investment and Trading JSC (TCM), Head of Sustainable Development Department of Vietnam Textile and Garment Association, many businesses admitted that they were facing a labor shortage, are slow to respond to large orders, and may lose opportunities if they do not have enough resources to produce at full capacity soon.

The labor shortage is expected to increase at the end of the first and second quarters of 2022, when businesses return to work at high capacity. Tung said that the company's factory in Vinh Long, manufacturing Adidas sportswear, did not dare accept many orders due to insufficient labor for production, not guaranteeing the schedule, and they may have to deliver goods by air with high cost.

Trang Nguyen, a representative of Thien Viet garment factory, said that while domestic orders were slow, export orders were positive, increasing by nearly 100% compared to before the lockdown period.

The enterprise has overcome the fear of not having orders, but is facing a labor shortage because many people are stuck in the countryside; others will return after the Lunar New Year. To be able to maintain production, on the one hand the company recruited more seasonal workers, and on the other hand, rotated shifts continuously. However, because it is difficult to ensure the production schedule due to the lack of workers, enterprises have to refuse a lot of outsourcing orders.

Thirst for seasonal labor

For the service industry, the demand for labor for orders on holidays and Tet has also increased sharply. Phan Thi Hong Ha, Deputy Director of Co.opmart Phu Lam, said that the volume of goods sold before Tet would double on weekdays, so the supermarket needs 70 seasonal workers as cashiers, warehouse assistants, salesmen, and service staff with a salary of VND25,000-30,000/hour. Employees can negotiate to work in shifts or full-time; can choose to receive a monthly salary, an hourly salary or a product-based salary. Either way, the income level is two or three times higher than usual.

Hoang Thi Van Anh, human resource specialist of Con Cung, a mother and baby supermarket system, said that to serve the dozens of stores in many provinces, the company was in need of recruiting about 100 workers with the lowest salary of VND5 million/month, but the number of employees has not met the requirements so far.

To create favorable conditions for workers, especially students, who will not return to their hometown to celebrate Tet, have a stable part-time job and more income during the 2022 Lunar New Year, from December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022, the Center for youth employment services in HCM City organized the program "Seasonal jobs for Tet 2022". Currently, there are more than 20 enterprises and units registered to recruit more than 3,000 seasonal jobs such as kitchen assistants, customer care staff, sales staff, and marketing staff with salaries ranging from VND5-10 million/month plus commission and bonuses.

However, workers are under great pressure for employment, but there are still units that need people but cannot recruit them. According to labor experts, the problem arises because workers are afraid of the pandemic in many localities.

Accordingly, to solve the problem of human resources, enterprises need to have a policy of dialogue, care for life, and improvement of income for employees to maintain the workforce, ensuring smooth production in the new normal, and meeting the orders from international brands in 2022.

Regarding the promulgation of the Program to support the recovery and development of the labor market, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs also emphasized policies to support foreign workers with minimum living costs, travel expenses, compensation, medical care, accommodation, or direct cash assistance.