Companies promise to maintain Tet bonus despite economic downturn      Businesses have promised to maintain the traditional Tet pay bonus. Firms promise not to cut Tet bonuses "Many enterprises are still in difficulties and they are trying to keep the 2015 bonus at the same level as 2014," said the deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Pham Minh Huan. He said companies operating under the foreign direct investment category will hold salaries and bonuses at the same level as this year. To Hoai Nam, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that even though the Tet bonus comes on top of a worker's regular wage, it is an important tradition that reflects the health of a company and encourages workers to greater productivity. The bonus is, essentially, an injection of cash into the economy, in that it stimulates consumption during a time of annual family gatherings and gift giving. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the go-ahead to increase the minimum monthly wage by 15 percent in 2015, which raised concerns that the Tet bonus would be cut to offset higher wage costs. The General Statistics Office reports that, in November alone, 60,340 firms shut down or asked to halt operation, up 9.8 percent year-on-year. Despite the challenges, many businesses in HCM City have pledged to maintain Tet bonuses for employees at an average of one month's salary. Le Hoa Binh, a director of Hoa Binh Food Company, which suffered a 30 percent drop in revenue in 2014, declared, "The average bonuses was VND3.6 million per person so we'll try to maintain this rate to encourage workers." Nguyen Van Ky, director of An Giang Fisheries Import & Export Joint Stock Company, confirmed that its workers will receive a one-month bonus and gifts. Workers with disadvantaged backgrounds will be given more support. The chairman of the Labour Union in Can Tho City, Huynh Ngoc Thach, said Tet bonuses at many companies in his area will be the same or higher. dtinews.vn