Workers experience fluctuating shifts due to power outages.

At Hai Dang Industrial Park in Yen Phong, Bac Ninh , the working hours have shifted from rotating shifts to day or night shifts, depending on power outages.

Le Hai Dang, 30 years old, is a technician at a company that manufactures mobile phone cases. He had to cancel his weekend outing with friends to work overtime to make up for a day off at the beginning of the week due to a power outage. Dang's work schedule shifted from a fixed week to a "work one day, rest one day" schedule starting on June 5th when the company experienced a power cut from early morning until the end of the afternoon.

For the past two days, he has switched from day shift to night shift because the company had to increase production to meet orders. Working against his biological clock caused the young man to constantly fall asleep on the company's shuttle bus from Bac Ninh to Hanoi .

"The working hours and days depend entirely on the power outage, as the HR department will notify us half a day or the evening before," Dang recounted. To be ready for his shift, he always brings a few changes of clothes to the company in case he has to stay late. In eight years of working, this is the first time Dang has had consecutive days off due to a power outage, but he doesn't know if he will be paid for those days off or if they will be deducted from his annual leave.

A factory in Dai Dong Industrial Park (Bac Ninh province) is plunged into darkness for 3-5 minutes before switching from grid electricity to generator power. Photo: Phong Linh

"Only the power company knows whether we'll be able to work these days," said Nguyen Thi Thu, a worker at the Yen Phong industrial park. On Monday, the factory experienced a power outage just as the production department was preparing to start work. After waiting for over two hours without power, the foreman had no choice but to send the workers home. For Thu, getting the day off was even worse than going to work because she couldn't sleep in her 15-square-meter, corrugated iron-roofed room, constantly exposed to the scorching 40-degree Celsius sun.

More than 10 industrial zones in Bac Ninh province, employing nearly half a million workers, are experiencing a difficult summer due to power shortages for production. At a meeting with Bac Ninh provincial leaders on June 3rd, many businesses reported power outages and sudden power cuts causing production disruptions and significant losses.

A representative from a phone case manufacturing company in the Yen Phong industrial park said that the power outage on June 1st caused machinery to stop abruptly, resulting in defective products. The following day, the company still allowed workers to come to work because they had received no notification from the power company, but mid-morning the power went out again, forcing the entire workshop to leave.

Another business in the Que Vo industrial park said that sudden power outages easily damage expensive machinery and components, resulting in defective products. Thousands of workers would have to change their work schedules, causing significant losses. "Power cuts need to be planned and prioritized not cutting power within the industrial park," the business representative suggested.

Mr. Ho Sy Linh, labor manager at Foster Co., Ltd. (Bac Ninh), lamented: "Every few days, the company experiences power outages, each time losing half a day. Sometimes, without prior notice, 3,000 workers who had already arrived have to leave. This electronics company, running four generators continuously, can only maintain 50% of its production line. The operating cost of the generators is 9 million VND per hour, and it increases significantly if they have to operate continuously."

According to Mr. Linh, workers currently have to work in shifts or make up for lost time on weekends if there is electricity, and the company still pays their full salaries. However, after experiencing a drop in orders and entering a period of "unstable" production due to power outages, workers' income "will certainly decrease, reaching only about 6 million VND per month."

Workers at Quang Chau Industrial Park ( Bac Giang ) leave work mid-shift due to a power outage. Photo: Contributor.

Similar to Bac Ninh, Bac Giang is also experiencing electricity shortages. In the first three days of June, the province's electricity consumption increased by more than 41% compared to the same period last year. At the electricity supply conference on June 5th, the province decided to adjust the electricity supply plan for the next 20 days, prioritizing daytime production and nighttime consumption for residents. Further adjustments will be made depending on the situation.

Therefore, businesses will operate from 7:45 AM to 5:00 PM daily and will receive continuous electricity supply. Businesses with urgent orders will register with the Industrial Park Management Board and will only operate from 0:00 AM to 5:00 AM.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Chairman of the Trade Union of Hosiden Company (Quang Chau Industrial Park), said that the nighttime electricity supply only met 5% of the demand, so the company had to stop night shifts for more than 5,000 workers and return to working 8-hour day shifts from June 5th. Orders this month have increased 1.5 times compared to last month, and workers had just started working overtime for two weeks when the power shortage caused production to fall behind.

"To avoid penalties, the factory had to prioritize urgent orders, but productivity and output still decreased by half, and workers' incomes are at risk of decreasing as a result," Mr. Tan said, adding that the wages of workers without overtime are now just over 6 million VND, and could decrease by another 30% after this power outage.

The 2019 Labor Code stipulates that if employees have to stop working due to power or water outages not caused by the employer; or due to natural disasters, fires, dangerous epidemics, acts of war, relocation of business premises at the request of competent state agencies, or for economic reasons, the two parties shall mutually agree on wages. Specifically: if the work stoppage lasts less than 14 days, the wage shall not be lower than the minimum wage; if it lasts more than 14 days, the two parties shall agree, but must ensure that the wage for the first 14 days is not lower than the minimum wage.

Hong Chieu

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/lao-dong-phap-phu-ca-kip-vi-cat-dien-4615985.html