Vietnam has emerged as a key global producer of textiles and apparel. There are about 6000 manufacturers in this sector. Most of them are private owned contributing more than 11 percent of GDP.
Similar to China, there is only one trade union, the state-controlled Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL). But unlike China, workers are more outspoken on social media about the need for independent trade unions. In this project we investigate, together with Fair Wear Foundation, forms and impact of collective action in the garment sector.
What issues drive workers to the streets? Is the VGCL supporting their actions? Is it risky to go on strike? And are workers succeeding with their demands? We analyse a large corpus of worker-related posts from Facebook and a Vietnamese discussion forum. The report will be available soon!