Thousands strike at Nike and Adidas shoe factory in Vietnam

Thousands of Vietnamese workers at a major footwear factory were on strike for a sixth day yesterday over a social insurance law in a move seen as a rare challenge to government policy.

Several thousand people at the Taiwanese-owned Pou Yuen factory in southern Ho Chi Minh City began the stoppage last week. Pou Yuen Vietnam, which employs more than 80,000 workers, is a subsidiary of Pou Chen Group and makes footwear for Nike, Adidas and other firms.

The workers continued the peaceful strike in the factory's compound yesterday under a heavy police presence. They marched along Highway 1 with banners and beating drums on Monday and Tuesday, blocking traffic on the main road artery.

They were protesting a new law, which comes into effect next year and says workers who resign will get a social insurance monthly allowance at retirement age instead of getting a one-time immediate payment. The striking workers said they prefer the lump sum to pay for their daily needs while seeking new jobs.

"None of us has a house," striking worker Nguyen Van Thu, 28. "When we can't work, we want to get our social insurance all at once so we can build a house for the family. We have to pay for all kinds of insurance, and we're afraid we'll lose it under the new law."