Laid-off workers carry out procedures for unemployment insurance benefits. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hundreds of businesses over the past month have had to halt production which has pushed hundreds of thousands of workers into unemployment or reduced working hours.

The workers are struggling to make ends meet and find new jobs, and really need timely support.

Normally, the end of the year is always the most exciting time for production and business activities, but this year, many businesses, particularly those in leather, footwear and wood production, have had to announce the suspension of production due to a lack of orders.

Therefore, thousands of employees have lost their jobs.

In HCM City, nearly 1,200 employees of foreign-invested Ty Hung Company Limited in Bình Tân District, which produces leather shoes for export, have been informed that they would have to stop working from December 1 because the company has to shrink production because of no orders.

Samho Việt Nam Ltd. in Củ Chi District is planning to lay off more than 1,400 out of 8,733 employees due to difficulties in production.

The mass loss of jobs is not only happening in HCM City but also many other localities across the country.

Trần Thị Thanh Hà, head of the Labour Relations Department of the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), said that up to now, 25 sectors have reported significant layoffs, of which, the main industries affected have been wood processing, textiles, leather, footwear, electronics, food, services and tourism.

According to the VGCL statistics, 441 enterprises, including 331 foreign-invested enterprises, have laid off a total of 624,786 employees in 25 provinces and cities, mainly in the southern region.

The confederation reported that 562,400 employees had their working hours reduced (accounting for 90 per cent), 31,370 employees had their labour contracts terminated (accounting for 5.02 per cent), and 31,012 employees took unpaid leave, temporary suspension of labour contracts, and paid time off (accounting for 4.98 per cent).

Nearly 90,000 employees have not been paid social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance of more than VNĐ2 trillion (US$80.7 million) while nearly 2,000 employees are owed wages of a total of VNĐ70 billion (US$2.8 million).

Trần Thanh Hải, VGCL vice president, said that recently, many businesses in the fields of wood, textile, leather and footwear have lacked orders, causing a force majeure situation for businesses.

In that context, many businesses were making great efforts to arrange jobs for employees, Hải said.

Given that tens of thousands of workers are losing their jobs right before Tết (Lunar New Year) Holiday, experts said that it was necessary to quickly deploy solutions to support and connect workers with jobs at the end of the year when the labour market is vibrant with many opportunities to find new jobs.

According to the HCM City Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, although the number of workers on leave receiving unemployment benefits in HCM City has increased by 27 per cent over the same period last year, the city is still seeing recruitment for 43,000 jobs at the end of the year.

This is a great opportunity for workers in the textile, garment, footwear, furniture or electronics industries who are affected by the wave of job cuts to find new jobs.

Lê Quang Trung, former deputy director of Job Department of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said that currently, there are many companies needing workers so employment service centres should know this piece of labour market information to connect workers with employers.

Meanwhile, Tào Bằng Huy, deputy director of Job Department of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the department has asked localities to guide enterprises to strictly comply with the provisions of the law ensuring the rights of workers when they lay off employees.

The department also requested employment service centres strengthen connections and introduce jobs to unemployed workers, Huy said.

Along with looking for new jobs, the laid-off workers should take advantage of this period to study and improve skills to prepare for their new situation, according to experts.

“During the interruption in production, businesses should organise training courses to improve the qualifications for employees so that businesses can prepare for production recovery and development, and restructuring the organisations,” Trung said. — VNS