Company SONA

34 Dai Co Viet, Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi
Tel: +84-4-9762097/9741421
Fax: +84-4-9740276

Case Summary:

Earlier 2008, 4 Vietnamese workers were sent by a Vietnamese labor exporting company by the name of SONA (service enterprise). The workers were to work as maids in Malaysia for Winbond Management & Consultant Sdn Bhd. The workers were forced to sign a contract with SONA just minutes before the bus took them to the airport for departure. When the workers arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, their cell phones, money, medications, and passports were taken from them. This left the workers in an extremely vulnerable situation, a situation which was exploited. Without money, phones, and passports, the workers could not call for help or leave their exploitative condition. Moreover, these workers were not paid the RM750 as stated in the contract; they were not paid at all for months. After being dismissed by their employers without pay, these workers were held captive by their Malaysian broker, Winbond, and its affiliate Princeton.

Companies involved:

1. LEAPRODEXIM VIETNAM (Cong Ty Co Phan Da Giay): 1/ A11 Dam Trau, Phuong Bach Dang, Quan Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi;
2. V-COALIMEX (Cong Ty Co Phan Than Ong Viet): 116 Ngo 88 Duong Vo Thi Sau, Quan Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi; and
3. LETCO: Part of the Industrial University of Ha Noi, in Tu Liem, Ha Noi

Case Summary:

In late 2007 through early 2008, a total of 261 Vietnamese workers, all but 4 being women, were sent by these three labor export companies (aka “service enterprises”) to work at W&D Apparel in Jordan, a subsidiary of Well & David Corporation based in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. W&D Apparel operates in the Al Taljamou’at Qualifying Industrial Zone and makes uniforms for Philadelphia-based Aramark and Houston-based Academy Sports & Outdoors. They were victims of deception by the Vietnamese labor export companies and exploitation by their employer in Jordan. They could not leave the exploitative conditions because the employer kept their passports, confined them to the company compound, and threatened to use force against them; the Vietnamese government threatened them with fines and prosecution; and the service enterprises demanded that they pay close to $1,600 for their flight home and in compensation to the employer. To this day, 105 of these workers are still unable to leave Jordan. 

Both LEAPRODEXIM and V-COALIMEX were state-owned until they became joint stock corporations with the government holding the majority of the shares (for example, the government owns 62% of the shares in LEAPRODEXIM). LETCO is part of a state university.

To enroll in the labor export program, the workers had to pay an equivalent of US $1,600 to $2,000 to the service enterprises and their affiliated brokers. Few workers were allowed to keep a copy of or even read their contract—many of them signed their contracts just a few hours before departure, and receipts of fees paid were confiscated by the labor export companies at the airport. Many workers were told to sign the contract at night; they then stayed overnight at locations designated by the service enterprises. After a few hours of rest, they were taken to the airport before dawn. Many workers were told they would go to Taiwan, Malaysia or Brunei but ended up in Jordan. The labor export companies have claimed “no record” of sending a number of workers to Jordan.