Factory workers denounce employers for low-quality meals A typical labourer's meal Tuan, a worker in HCM City said, "Right now, we have to do extra shifts five days a week to increase our meals. But now, they intend to cut that meal off. How are we supposed to have the strength to work?" Another worker said, "They want high productivity, but they also are trying to skimp on our meals. Extra shifts five days in a row already is a violation of labour rules, but we still try our best. They should be understanding." According to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in HCM City, since early 2014, the city has had 70 strikes and the cause for 28 of them was related to meal quality at workplaces. On October 27, nearly 1,000 workers from T.O. Company stopped working and demanded that employers improve the meals. The workers, who worked six days a week, complained of spoiled meat and vegetables. "If the cooks didn't tell us that this is chicken and fish nobody would know what it was." Even though the labourers tried to report the issue multiple times, the problem remained unsolved. Pregnant and women with small child are hardest-hit. Some of them are forced to bring their own food to augment the meals. Nearly 4,000 workers at Vina Duke Company also stopped work for a week because their meals were so small and unhygienic. An official of Hoc-Mon District Labour Union said, "Cutting meals will not only have bad impact on employee health, but also sow the seeds for labour disputes."  Laodong