Hanoi - The number of wildcat strikes in Vietnam has increased sharply compared with last year, a government official said Tuesday.

"This year, we have seen about a 30-per-cent increase in wildcat strikes compared with last year," said Pham Minh Huan, Director of the Salary Policy Department of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Huan said that more than 80 per cent of the 650 wildcat strikes in 2008 occurred at foreign companies, often as employees demanded higher salaries.

After more than a decade of fast economic growth, Vietnam has been struggling to curb double-digit annual inflation which rose by 23 per cent in 2008, year-on-year.

Vietnamese often spend about 60 per cent of their salaries on food and other staples, but prices for such necessities have risen by 42.4 per cent from a year ago.

Local media reported that about 90 per cent of the strikes were illegal. In Vietnam government permission is needed before strikes may go ahead.

The number of strikes has fallen recently thanks to a decree by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung earlier this year, stating that those striking illegally must compensate their employers for profits lost, Huan said.

Vietnam reported about 1,000 wildcat strikes between the years 1995 to 2005, and 387 in 2006. Strikes surged to 541 in 2007.

Vietnam has a workforce of 45 million people, with 1.6 per cent working in the foreign-invested sector, 9.6 per cent in the state-run sector and 88.8 per cent in the private sector. Vietnam's total population is 86 million.

There are no independent labour rights organizations in Vietnam, and the official national labour union sees its role as mediating between companies and workers rather than taking sides. (dpa)