Following the introduction of comrade Kha Van Tam - Chairman of Nghe An Provincial Labor Federation, we met Ms. Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh on a cool May morning right after she returned from Hanoi. Still full of emotion, she sincerely shared: “Becoming one of 133 typical examples to meet President Vo Van Thuong at the Presidential Palace on May 13 and receiving a Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor is like “a dream come true” for a worker with small achievements and contributions like me. It is so surprising and happy! This is not only an honor but also an encouragement and motivation for me to continue to strive and practice!”.
Talking directly with her and listening to her share her journey from an ordinary female worker to the head of a garment factory of a large company, I could only admire the will and determination to overcome difficulties of this small-statured but energetic woman. As the eldest child in a poor farming family in Nam Cat commune, Nam Dan district, after graduating from high school, although she really wanted to go to university, Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh had to put her dream aside and apply to work as a worker at a garment company in Vinh city to support her parents in raising her three younger sisters. “At first, I felt sad and sorry for myself because my friends were in college while I was just a seamstress, but then I told myself that no matter what job I did or where I was, I had to be diligent and make an effort. If I didn’t try, my younger sister would have to drop out of school, so the more difficult things were, the more I had to overcome them. The great encouragement is that now my three younger sisters (two graduated from college, one from university) are all grown up, two of whom also work in the garment industry,” Ms. Anh shared.
In 2011, the life of seamstress Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh took a new turn when she applied to work at Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited located in Nam Giang Industrial Park (Nam Dan). Thanks to her diligence and expertise, after only 1 month, Ngoc Anh was promoted from an ordinary worker to Deputy Line Manager, then Production Line Manager. And after 1.5 years, she was entrusted with the responsibility of managing and operating 5 production lines in the company's garment factory, each line consisting of 60-70 workers.
During her career, although her two children were still young, her husband first worked in the same company and then went to work abroad, her paternal family lived far away, and her three children lived with her maternal grandparents, Ngoc Anh always tried to overcome difficulties and set an example in completing all assigned tasks. In addition, to promote work efficiency, she herself always researched, overcame difficulties, improved her expertise, trained her skills and constantly innovated to meet requirements and tasks.
Concerned with the thought of how to make the equipment operate safely, accurately, effectively, and durably; innovate technology, and rationalize production to increase labor productivity and save costs, Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh has coordinated with colleagues to implement many technical innovation initiatives applied in practice to shorten production time while still ensuring quality.grecognized by the company as: Initiative to improve sewing on shirts, specifically using a large programming machine to sew the front zipper of the shirt, both improving quality and increasing output by 20% compared to using a single-needle machine; Initiative to separate the sewing process of the shirt and the body into two independent stages, using two types of machines suitable for different materials and fabric textures, then assembling them together, bringing 17% higher output compared to the old method of combining them into one stage and using the same type of machine, which is both time-consuming and unable to adjust the machine according to the characteristics of each type of fabric. Or the initiative to improve the sewing line diagram, instead of the line leader being the one to control the output of the entire production line, now the process is divided into many groups, each group appoints a person to check and then reports back to the line leader. When applied in practice, it both stimulates the workers' self-awareness and helps managers grasp more quickly the problems occurring in each group...
“Improvement initiatives all come from work reality and I share them with my colleagues to discuss and find the best solutions to overcome difficulties and obstacles, and complete all tasks well. Successfully applied technical improvement initiatives can not only increase labor productivity, bring savings to the company, but also motivate and encourage workers to work enthusiastically in production... That is also a way for workers like us to concretize learning and following Uncle Ho's teachings in our daily work to benefit the company and workers,” Ngoc Anh shared.
With her own efforts, in 2021-2022, Ngoc Anh has achieved the title of excellent employee of the year, and was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the company for her many contributions in building experience initiatives. Commenting on Ngoc Anh, Mr. Cho Song Chun - Director of the garment factory of Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited said: "She is an intelligent, diligent, and creative employee. When instructed or suggested a specific job, she can do more than we expect...".
Not only is she an example of overcoming difficulties in the movement "Good worker, creative worker", Ms. Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh is also an energetic and enthusiastic union official who is loved by many people. During her 11 years as a member of the company's Union Executive Committee, she has always actively responded to the emulation movements "green - clean - beautiful, ensuring occupational safety and hygiene", "good at public work, good at housework among female workers"; she is a leader in participating in cultural and artistic activities, sports, and humanitarian activities organized by the company and the union.
Especially activities to visit and support workers who have accidents and are in difficult circumstances. Such as the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong in Kim Lien commune, formerly a worker on line 9, who is sick and whose family lives in a thatched house. Sharing the difficult circumstances of her colleagues, in addition to proposing that the company support 80 million VND to help Ms. Phuong build a house, Ms. Ngoc Anh and her colleagues also support working days and encourage Ms. Phuong mentally to overcome difficulties and rise up.
As the person directly in charge of a garment factory where there are mainly female workers, and also a union official, in addition to helping and supporting workers in their work, Ngoc Anh also regularly listens to the thoughts and feelings of her sisters to grasp and promptly handle problems that arise. Because just one person being negligent will affect the entire production line. She herself always keeps in mind that she also started from the position of a worker, so she must have understanding, share and support workers in difficult times. The more the gap between managers and workers is reduced, the more favorable the work will be.
In the conversation with us, the strong-willed woman also shared that: Being able to attend the intimate meeting of President Vo Van Thuong and outstanding collective and individual examples selected from all levels of the trade union, representing millions of trade union members nationwide from many different professions, fields, and positions at the Presidential Palace. In addition, being able to attend the conference to review 2 years of implementing Conclusion No. 01 and commending advanced models in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has helped her learn and broaden her horizons.
Especially when hearing the President mention the poem of a Russian poet:“No one is boring in this world, every fate contains a part of history”With the message: "No matter what position we are in, if we have a heart, responsibility, and a desire to contribute, we will all become useful people for the country", Ngoc Anh understands that: Learning from Uncle Ho is not something far away or great, but in our own sense of responsibility for our daily work.
“I silently promised myself that when I returned, I would apply Ho Chi Minh’s ideology more to my life and work, build solidarity, collaboration, mutual love and affection; foster a spirit of love for the industry and profession; create a spread for workers in the production line under my management to promote the creative labor movement, applying technical innovations in production and business. Thereby, contributing to affirming the role and position of the working class in the period of industrialization and modernization…”, Ms. Anh expressed.