VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City People's Committee has submitted a draft to the Government proposing support policies to help employees at foreign-invested enterprises whose owners have fled the country.

Since April 2010, three enterprises have seen owners escape without paying salaries to their employees.

The owner of South Korea's Jin Sang Vina, based in District 12, fled Viet Nam, but he did not pay salaries for March last year, worth a total of VND148 million for employees.

Meanwhile, the company left assets, mainly low-cost items such as office furniture.

The director of the South Korean-invested Haekwang Vina Company in Hoc Mon District also fled, and the company still owes VND122 million in salary for September 2010 to its employees.

The company's assets under seal mainly include garment equipment worth about VND500 million.

Early this year, Lai Chun Nan, director of the Taiwan-based Magnicon Wool Weaving and Export Company in District 12, fled to avoid payment of his staff salaries. The company owes salaries for January and February worth VND1.6 billion.

The municipal People's Committee has asked relevant agencies and the HCM City Labour Federation to guide authorised agencies of involved localities to complete necessary procedures for bankruptcy of these enterprises.

To partly help the employees of these enterprises, the PC has asked the Prime Minister to allow it to settle the salary in one of two ways: advance the cash from the State Budget to pay employees of the three companies; or sell the companies' sealed assets to get cash for salary payments.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News