The bus system in central Da Nang City was suspended as drivers and driving assistants were going on a strike on Thursday to demand their unpaid salaries for four months.

Up to 103 out of the 120 employees of Quang An 1 JSC, which operates public bus services in the city, were on strike.

Nguyen Van Dung, a bus driver of the company, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that they have yet to receive their salaries since February this year, so their life is full of hardships.

“We have worked hard and seriously to contribute to serving local residents’ travel demand.

“However, Quang An 1 JSC fails to fulfill its responsibility to employees. It pays neither our salaries for a long time nor social as well as health insurance premiums,” Dung added.

Buses in Da Nang City are left idle as drivers and driving assistants go on a strike. Photo: Truong Trung / Tuoi Tre

Many other drivers agreed that the company often fails to pay employees’ salaries as scheduled.

Once laborers demanded salaries, the company issued announcements saying that it would pay salaries on certain dates.

However, it has been four months since employees of the company last received their salaries.

This is not the first time the bus system in Da Nang City was halted due to employees’ strikes.

Quang An 1 JSC’s failure of making salary and social insurance premium payments over the past few years has resulted in the system’s suspension, affecting local commuters’ travel.

At a recent press briefing, Nguyen Dang Hoang, director of the municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, attributed Quang An 1 JSC’s slow salary and social insurance premium payment to a slump of bus service demand.

Employees of Quang An 1 JSC cry for help. Photo: Truong Trung / Tuoi Tre

Quang An 1 JSC always takes the lead in social insurance premium arrears for many years and has no goodwill to make payments, according to the Da Nang Social Insurance.

Following many administrative sanctions, the municipal social insurance agency took drastic measures to collect social insurance premium arrears from the company in March this year.

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