THE CURRENT SITUATION AND FACTORS INFLUENCING LABOR DISPUTES AT KOREAN FDI IN VIETNAM

Abstract

It is stated that the year 2017 marks 25 years of Vietnam and South Korea’s diplomatic relations. During this period, Korean FDI has shifted from labor intensive sectors to capital intensive sectors and bilateral trade jumped from US$0.5 billion in 1992 to US$45 billion in 2016, while in terms of investments, South Korea has emerged as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. In spite of the growth in trade and investment, 4 in 10 strikes that occurred in Vietnam between 2009 and 2014 were staged by workers at Korean-owned companies. Although there is an increase in the number of strikes occuring at Chinese or Taiwanese enterprises in recent years, the occurences of strikes at Korean firms still take the higher portion (31.13% in 2016 and 29.04% in 2017 by Vietnam General Confederation of Labour - VGCL) of the total labor disputes in Vietnam (VGCL, 2017). From the rationale of the situation, this research reviewed the conditions of labor relations, particularly labor disputes (strikes)1 , at the Korean FDI in Vietnam, including the current situation and changes through examining the statistics data, results of previous studies, explores and evaluates through the interview which factors were influenced to the labor disputes, and any other potential factors not yet been influenced to the labor disputes at Korean FDI in Vietnam. The findings of this research are sourced from the literatures and interviewees of local employees therefore, the results have not reflected all aspects of labor issues. It is suggested that the researcher will conduct in-depth empirical research on the relationship between the influening factors and labor disputes at Korean FDI in Vietnam.