Solving the interests of working people: experience from Hwaseung Vina

 Hwaseung Vina, a 100% Korean-invested Company in Nhon Trach Industrial Zone 1 (Nhon Trach district), Hwaseung Vina, a 100% Korean-invested Company in Nhon Trach Industrial Zone 1 (Nhon Trach district) has always ensured workers’ interests thanks to its trade union executive board.

Hwaseung Vina's workers at the Suoi Tien Park

The typical example is that the company has recently organized a sightseeing tour for nearly 13.000 workers at Suoi Tien Park. As soon as the company bus arrived at Suoi Tien Park (in Ho Chi Minh City), Ly, Phuong, Hong and Canh were eager to have photographs taken. Ms Lai Thi Ly from Nghe An said with joy: “workers’ salaries are not high so at weekend we just visit our friends at their rented rooms or go for a walk because we can’t afford to travel farther. Therefore, when the company organized a sight-seeing tour for us to go on, we are very happy.” Her friend, Truong Thi Thu Hong from Binh Thuan province said: “the interest thing is that all of us working in the same shift can go together like this. We were so excited that we woke up 4 or 5 times last night because we were afraid of getting up late and being left at home”. Ms Vo Thi Hoa Trinh, worker of line 3 unit 3 of the company, said: “I often stay at home, do housework and take care of my family on Sundays but today our company let us go sight-seeing and I can take my children with me so I am really happy, too.”

As far as it is concerned The number of workers are too large for the company to let all of them go on one tour so the tour had to be divided into series and the tour at Suoi Tien on Sunday in the early June was the last series of 17 ones. Mr Pham Huu Quy, Chairman of the labor union of the company told us that in order to hold a tour like this, the labor union executive board ceaselessly submitted its proposals to the board of managers at a number of labor union meetings to court the support of the general director . Mr Quy added: “Union officials represent workers’ interests but in order to get desired effects, they have to harmonize with the bilateral interests. Demanding worker’s interest is important but they have to be patient. Moreover, when union officials manage to persuade the board of managers of  long-term benefits, they will accept the demand more easily. A many-time negotiation process between the labor union and the board of managers brought about the recent tour to Suoi Tien after the collective labor agreement was signed.

What Mr. Quy said appears to be simple but in fact it is not easy at all, especially for a foreign-invested company with over thirteen employees like Hweseung Vina because of its large number of employees, the company will cost a great sum of money whenever it meets any interests of its employees.

Thanks to the above sound policy, the labor union executive board of Hwaseung Vina has won both the worker’s trust and the board of managers’ approval. Therefore, when the labor union make demands for such workers’ interests as salary rise, transportation allowance, seniority allowance, musical show in which singers are invited from Ho Chi Minh city, and even charity work for districts, provinces, the board of managers always take them into consideration and ratify them. Mr. Quy told us his intention with joy: “the series of tour to Suoi Tien show that workers feel the great need to entertain themselves. Therefore, in later activities of the labor union, we will try to persuade the board of managers to create opportunities for workers to go on more tours and to attend more musical activities so that they can have a good time after hard-working days…”

(Translated by THKC)