Vietnam's Indian ambition
VinFast, part of the Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup, will be launching two electric SUVs in India later this month. The VF6 and VF7 will be made in India at its new state-of-the-art plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
California's AB5 Law under fire, nail techs sue state over worker classification – what the law states?
A federal lawsuit has been filed against California, challenging its labor rules concerning nail technicians, as per a report. The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, claimed that Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), violates the 14th Amendment, as it does not allow nail technicians to work as independent contractors, as reported by MoneyWise. What is AB5 and Why It Was Introduced Assembly Bill 5, which was passed in 2019, changed how companies classify workers, as per the report. This came after a 2018 Supreme Court ruling against Dynamex Operations West, which had misclassified delivery drivers as independent contractors to cut costs, which led the assembly bill to form ground rules for who can be an independent contractor, according to the Moneywise report. Under the new law, workers must meet three conditions to be categorised as a contractor, which include working independently, performing tasks outside the company's core business and offering their services to other clients, as reported by MoneyWise. If a worker does not come under these conditions, they must be treated as employees, with protections like minimum wage, overtime pay, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, according to the MoneyWise report. ALSO READ: Pokrovsk in peril? Tensions surge as 111,000 Russian troops gather near Ukraine's frontline hotspot Lives Turned Upside Down Pro Nails Association pointed out that the change had shaken up an industry, which has many immigrant employees from Vietnam, and generates about $3 billion a year, reported MoneyWise. Live Events California Assemblyman Tri Ta (R-Westminster), who is the representative of Little Saigon, said that, "Their lives have turned upside down overnight," and "It is not just unfair, it is discrimination," as quoted in the report. Vietnamese Nail Techs Say Their Livelihoods Are at Risk California's AB5 Law's change is not in favour of nail salon owners, and the owner of two Happy Nails & Spa franchises, An Tran, is taking the state to court, arguing the rules impede how salons operate day-to-day, as reported by MoneyWise. Tran explained that turning contractors into full-time employees would mean higher payroll costs, higher insurance and tighter margins for owners, who already deal with overhead costs like rent and supplies, according to the report. Tran told the LA Times, "We don't have customers all the time. That's going to cost us a lot more to pay them for the downtime when they don't have any customers," as quoted in the MoneyWise report. ALSO READ: Iran moves women prisoners to hellhole farm jail after airstrike hits notorious Evin prison A Fight About Community and Identity According to the lawsuit, the fight is also about community, as many Vietnamese refugees had started working in nail salons in the late 1970s with the aim to rebuild their lives in America and now, even decades later, that legacy has continued, reported MoneyWise. The lawsuit also pointed out that over 82% of California nail technicians are Vietnamese, and about 85% are women, according to the report. The attorney for the plaintiffs, Scott Wellman told KTLA 5, 'Vietnamese American manicurists have faced blatant discrimination under California's labor laws, stripped of the same rights and freedoms afforded to others in their industry,' adding, 'If the State of California refuses to fix this injustice, we are prepared to hold them accountable in federal court,' as quoted by MoneyWise. Low Pay and Health Risks Also Part of the Story While, worker advocates have highlighted that the lawsuit also points out the deeper issues of exploitation across the industry, as per the report. A UCLA Labor Center report showed that about 80% of nail salon workers earn pay at or below two-thirds of the median full-time wage, more than double the national low-wage rate for all workers and many salons are reportedly concerned about health and safety conditions as well, as per the report. FAQs Why are nail technicians suing the state of California? They say AB5 unfairly does not allow them to work as independent contractors, which threatens their livelihood and community-built businesses. How are nail salons affected by AB5? Salon owners now have to treat nail technicians as employees, which comes with higher costs and less flexibility, as per the report.
India Today
6 hours ago
- India Today
Vietnam's Indian ambition
VinFast, part of the Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup, will be launching two electric SUVs in India later this month. The VF6 and VF7 will be made in India at its new state-of-the-art plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Vietnam braces for end of US tariff pause
AP Image Businesses in Vietnam's capital are suffering from declining sales after the United States introduced trade tariffs on the country earlier this year. Hanoi's Old Quarter is replete with stores selling designer goods, brand clothing and electronics from rustic French colonial buildings that still form the fabric of the area. Signs proclaiming that goods are "Made in Vietnam" are everywhere — a concept locals insist on emphasizing to passers-by, hoping for sales from foot traffic made up largely of tourists and backpackers. Vietnam PM expects trade deal before July tariff deadline Vietnam is an attractive prospect for US investors because of its young workforce and low labour costs. However, that has been dampened by Washington's 46 percent tariff rate, which is due to come into effect in July. Hanoi is in negotiations with Washington for a reduction. On Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said he expected a trade deal with the US ahead of the scheduled 46 percent tariffs. "I hope that you will see that the result will come earlier than two weeks," Chinh said. "Vietnam and the US share a deep understanding on tariffs. I hope that all the positive things will come for us." In the meantime, a baseline tariff of 10 percent has been in place since April. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Livguard Lithium-X: The Future of Power Backup Livguard Learn More Undo Fast-growing economy Apple, Samsung and Nike have chosen Vietnam as key manufacturing locations. The country exported goods worth $142 million to the US last year, accounting for about 30 percent of its total economic output. Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, with a projected GDP growth of 6.8 percent by the end of 2025, according to a report by the World Bank in March. The report attributed the estimated growth to Vietnam rebounding in industries such as manufacturing exports, tourism and foreign direct investment. But those projections may not meet expectations in the absence of a trade deal or tariff relief. "Without tariff relief, Vietnam will fail to hit their ambitious growth targets; the US market is simply too important for them," Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, told DW. "Even if they can reduce that 46 percent tariff, the Trump administration has imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries." Why are Trump's tariffs so high? US President Donald Trump has hit Hanoi with high tariffs partly due to concerns that China is using Vietnam as a transshipment point to work around its own high tariffs imposed by Washington. Hanoi has intensified efforts to curb illegal transshipment, predominantly involving goods from China. Eric Nguyen, CEO of Grando Premium Aluminium Vietnam, which produces and exports to international markets worldwide, told DW that the US government suspects that Vietnam is using products from China. "But the fact is that Grando, we do not use Chinese material, [everything is] 100 percent made in Vietnam," Nguyen said, adding that the tariffs have forced their operations to rely on other markets worldwide. " We seek to expand our export market to other markets, such as Europe, Japan, and Korea, so that we do not depend 100 percent to the US market and to be less vulnerable to any change from the US government," he said. Nguyen Tuong Phan, general manager of Aviation Solution Services, a cargo freight company in Hanoi, told DW that since the tariffs were introduced, cargo freight companies in China have been trying to send their cargo to the US via Vietnam in order to evade the higher rates. "Now a lot of charter flight from freight forwarders are coming from China, are now coming to Vietnam. The capacity to fly to the US increase from Vietnam has increased by, let's say, 80 percent,' he said. Balancing US demands with China ties Vietnam and China hold close relations both economically and politically. Beijing is Hanoi's largest trading partner and both countries share similar political ideologies and are governed by their respective Communist parties. Hanh Nguyen, a research fellow at the Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS), said if Vietnam does decide to reduce its dealings with China, it will hurt the Vietnamese economy either way. "Reducing or even cutting off input materials and components from China will cause significant damage to Vietnam's economy," she told DW. She noted that Vietnam's manufacturing sector — particularly electronics and textiles — is "dependent on imported raw materials from regional supply chains based in China." "If Vietnam complies with US demands, it will also hurt Vietnam's ties with China, which will perceive Vietnam's compliance as joining the US-led anti-China coalition," Hanh added. Vietnam is a huge manufacturing hub for international clothing brands, but Washington has highlighted how counterfeit products have also contributed to their concerns over trade. In January, a report from the US Trade Representative flagged Saigon Square shopping mall as a hotspot for the sale of forged fashion items from major brands. Hanh said Vietnam has taken several measures to cater to Washington's concerns, that will hopefully reduce the high tariffs imposed on them. "[Vietnam has been] stepping up the crackdown on transshipment issues and has recently launched a new campaign to crack down on counterfeit products and digital piracy," he said, adding that the question now is: what will Vietnam's do next? "There is not a country in the world that has been more proactive than Vietnam in negotiating tariff relief with the Trump administration. One of the predicaments for the Vietnamese right now, is how much to negotiate and give away."
