Stories of Women Workers in Vietnam’s Electronics Industry

As reported in Good Electronics, a report focusing on the experiences of women working at two Samsung factories in Vietnam has been released by the Research Center for Gender Family and Environment in Development (CGFED) and IPEN, a global network of environment and health NGOs working to reduce harmful chemicals.

The electronics sector is a significant area of growth for Vietnam, as electronics exports outpace other exports. Samsung alone has over 100,000 workers, who produce approximately 50% of all Samsung phones. However, Vietnam has no labor codes specifically protecting the health of electronics industry workers, who are overwhelmingly women.

The study combines industrial sector research and qualitative narratives of 45 workers, and is the first of its kind in Vietnam to shed light on the experiences of the predominantly female electronics industry workers. Because Samsung is notoriously secretive, it offers a rare glimpse into life on the Samsung factory floor. The workers’ experiences of frequent fainting, dizziness, miscarriages, standing for eight-to-twelve hours, and alternating day/night shift work are documented. Samsung Electronics has refuted any claims of wrongdoing and said the report is different from the facts, while also threatening legal action against CGFED for this work.

Key Findings:

• All workers reported extreme fatigue, fainting և dizziness at work.
• Workers reported that miscarriages are extremely common — even expected.
• Workers must stand throughout their 8- to 12-hour shifts and many are kept on alternating day and night shift schedules, regardless of weekends.
• Pregnant workers usually stand for the entire shift to avoid having the company deduct money from their wages for taking breaks.
• More than half of the interviewed women have children, but they are separated from them. The children live with their grandparents in another town or city.
• Workers reported problems with eyesight, nose bleeds, և stomach aches, as well as bone, joint, և leg pain.
• Workers’ lives are controlled inside and outside of work. Breaks are short and limited, and workers must request special passes to use the restroom. Workers are restricted from speaking about work because of fear of reprisals.
• The need for further research regarding chemical exposure is necessary. Despite the fact that workers are stationed in open factory settings where other workers use a variety of substances, they did not consider assembly line work a chemical risk.

The study, says the Hanoi-based research group that conducted the research, is a rare opportunity for consumers and policy makers to learn about the harsh working conditions that the female workers making the ubiquitous phones must endure.

Read more in Good Electronics.