IWTU living wage research The Institute for Workers and Trade Union (IWTU) will conduct a research in 5 provinces including Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, aiming at providing evidence to Oxfam campaign for iconic brands to commit to paying living wages in the global garment supply chains and public awareness in Viet Nam and Australia to promote a living wage for garment workers.

the project time frame: Jan-Sep 2018

Objectives of the research
1. Examine status of wage determination in Australia sourced garment companies inVietnam (policies and practices) and obstacles to paying a living wage;
2. Examine status of wage related working conditions of workers working in Australia sourced garment companies in Vietnam.
3. Implication of actual wage to workers and their family (income vsliving expenses: food, medical care, WASH, electricity, child education etc. )
4. Provide recommendations based on research findings
Outcome
- A full and a summary report in English and Vietnamese sent to OXFAM with data collected. The report will be prepared in EEnglish (max 50 pages including annex, with executive summary) then translated into Vietnamese.
- A national seminar to disclose the report

Methodology:
The research should provide a clear picture of wage determination status (policy and practices) and wages related working conditions in the garment sector and its implication  of actual wage on workers#life, specifically:
- Comparison between actual wages workers received and various benchmarks
- Analysis of root causes of low wage from the below perspectives:
o Businessand supply chain practices.
o Dialogue, communication, and negotiation deficits
o Workers# rights deficits
o Obstacles to paying a living wage
- Identifying problems workers face due to low wage, especially the female workers in their life concerning health, work-life balance, housing, access to health care and education services, water and electricity, social life, so on.
- Recommendations based on the findings of the research

Literature review:
- a review of the wage system in Vietnam including the legislative framework, the MW system and the difference in wage fixing in different economic sectors
- a review of the wage fixing systems in the garment sector
- a review of the trends of wages paid to rank-and-file workers in the garment industry with special focus on the female workers# wages.
- A review of other working conditions in the garment sector including working hours, OSH, labour relations etc that influence wages.

Action research using quantitative and qualitative methods to achieve the objectives of the research. The IWTU willuse questionnaires to collect information for quantitative research and conduct individual interviews and group discussions for qualitative research. Observations methods will be applied.

Selection of sample:
6 factories can be chosen among the list to cover 4 wage regions and both North and South: 1 factory in Dong Nai (South) and and 1 factory in Hai Phong North for region 1, 1 factory in Tien Giang (South) for region 2, 2 factories in Hai Duong (for region 3) and 1 factory in Thanh Hoa for region 4. This could be revised later considering ratio of factories in the wage regions or brand sources.
Total of interviewees:
- 150 workers in quantitative survey (off-site)
- 60 workers in FGD (on-site)
- 12-18 worker in-depth interviews for case studies
- 24 enterprise union officials interviewed (on-site)
- 18 managers interviewed (on-site)
- 15 provincial union officials and 10 provincial labour administrators
- 02 officials from MOLISA: one from wage and industrial relations bureau and the other from the legal department
- 02 members of the National Wage Council: one from VCCI and the other from the VGCL
- 02 scholars researching wages and labour standards in the garmentsector