ĐỒNG NAI — Authorities in the southern province of Đồng Nai on February 11 used their own budget to pay the salary and Lunar New Year (Tết) bonus for two thousand workers of a company whose managers have fled the country.

On the morning of February 11, representatives from Đồng Nai Labour Federation and the provincial labour and social affairs department came to the South Korea-invested textile and garment manufacturer KL Texwell Vina based in Bàu Xéo Industrial Park, Trảng Bom District to organise payments.

Vietnam News Agency reported that from early morning, nearly 2,000 workers of the company lined up under tight security, waiting for their turn.

Each worker received 50 per cent of their January salary that KL Texwell Vina owes. They would also receive another VNĐ600,000 (US$26.4) as support from local labour agencies on the morning of February 12.

With just four days until Tết, the company’s workers were relieved as they now at least have some money to cover expenses for the Lunar New Year holiday. Many said they were just about to catch the bus to return to their hometowns.

Previously, on February 9, workers of the company gathered to demand payment for their January salary which amounts to a total of some VNĐ13.7 billion ($604,170). However, departments at the company said that late on February 8 the director-general, together with 11 executives of the KL Texwell Vina company, had already left for South Korea.

KL Texwell Vina is a 100 per cent South Korean-owned company. It registered with Vietnamese authorities in December 2015, with charter capital of VNĐ100 billion ($4.4 billion) and hiring 1928 employees.

Aside from the late salary payment, the company has also reportedly failed to pay social insurance for their employees since last year’s August, which now totals upwards of VNĐ17.5 billion ($771,750).

Lawyers have suggested Đồng Nai authorities quickly file a lawsuit for the court to start bankruptcy procedures against the company so that its machinery and other assets could be valued and sold to pay the workers’ salaries and bonuses.

Also on February 11, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc lauded the quick response from Đồng Nai People’s Committee and the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour. — VNS