Garment industry requires over 5,000 workers

The garment industry requires at least 5,000 factory workers this year, with both skilled and inexperienced people needed, according to the Lao Garment Association.
As many as 5,000 people are needed to fill jobs in the garment industry, with many opportunities for unskilled workers, Lao National Radio reported.
President of the Lao Garment Association (ALGI), Mr Xaybandith Rasphone, told Vientiane Times that the greatest need is in Special Economic Zones, while factories in Vientiane have also reported a shortage of workers.
People interested in working in the garment industry are advised to contact labour and social welfare offices or the Lao Garment Association in Vientiane. Factory

owners are providing accommodation for people who have come to Vientiane from the provinces to work, to protect them against Covid-19, and managers will interview those shortlisted for employment, Mr Xaybandith said.
Thousands of Lao workers who were employed in Thailand returned home over the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government urged all those returning to Laos to enter the country at official border crossings so they could be screened.
Some returning migrants have found work on their family rice farms, while others have struggled to find employment since as early as May 2020.
There are currently an estimated 63,000 unemployed people in Laos, including those who were already out of work and the thousands of migrant workers who streamed back to the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A large number of employees, particularly women, have lost essential income even as living costs spiral, increasing the burdens they carry and making it harder for them to survive.
Due to the pandemic, many garment workers had their working hours reduced or were laid off. A key lesson from Covid-19 is that it is essential to immediately support businesses in their efforts to survive as well as workers who lose their jobs and income.
Such immediate humanitarian support must be part of the longer-term plan to build back better.
All garment factories in Laos took a hit from shrinking demand and the drop in orders placed by their main buyers in the European Union, Japan, the United States and Canada.
According to a report from the International Labour Organisation, a multi-donor programme has been designed to assist both workers and private sector businesses to rebuild their economic activities, mitigate further interruptions in the supply chain, and provide direct support to garment sector workers, especially women.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
 (Latest Update March 1, 2022)