A total of 92 labour disputes occurred at 92 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City last year, a fall of 17 incidents compared to the previous year, according the city's Labour Federation.

The main causes of the disputes were said to be the failure to adjust wages as regulated and to pay social insurance and sign labour contracts.

More than 32,000 workers were involved in disputes last year, according to the federation's report.

Dang Ngoc Tung, chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, praised the city for its oversight in implementing regulations among enterprises, which resulted in a drop in disputes.

The labour unions asked the workers to be sympathetic to companies that were struggling due to the economic downturn, Tung told attendees at a conference held in HCM City on January 17.

Unions have also worked with 9,400 enterprises to present gifts worth more than 780 billion VND (37 million USD) to disadvantaged workers during the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

More than 380 enterprises provided 16.7 billion VND (795,000 USD) for bus fares to help 26,700 workers return home for the most important and longest annual family reunion festival in Vietnam .

As of November 2013, more than 18,900 enterprises in the city had halted operations, and 20,000 enterprises owed 18.5 trillion VND (880.9 million USD) in taxes.

More than 115,800 workers applied for unemployment insurance benefits during the period.

Seventy-nine labour accidents occurred in the city last year, killing 81 people and injuring 13 others.-VNA