The Phnom Penh Post
March 17, 2013
By Roger Mitton
Vietnam is a sad country these days. Almost every report about the place, whether it concerns the economy, corruption, political repression or the price of beer, is profoundly depressing.
Perhaps the most melancholic item was a story by the journalist Nguyen Phuong Linh in last month’s Financial Times, which described the plight of people termed “zombies”.
They are the tens of thousands of blue-collar workers at the country’s massively inefficient, institutionally corrupt and largely bankrupt state-owned enterprises.
As Ms Linh revealed, many of these workers have not been paid for many months now, and given the huge debts of the companies, it is likely they never will be paid.
Even in the unlikely event that they do eventually get their back pay, the paltry sum will buy even less than usual due to rising inflation and the ever depreciating currency.
Yet in Vietnam’s stagnant labour market, these poor peons are scared to leave the deceptive cocoon of false security provided by being a state employee.
The communist regime cannot sack them. That would only hasten the coming and inevitable revolution.
Read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013030461721/Regional-Insider/vietnam-s-downward-spiral.html
