Nghe An workers - a perspective

(Baonghean) - The story of Nghe An workers (along with Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, collectively called Nghe workers) being "boycotted" in some industrial zones in the South is actually not new, but has suddenly become heated in recent days due to the strong involvement of the press. As an insider, and with the desire to sympathize and share with Nghe workers far from home, we decided to make a trip "Southward" to directly hear, see and reflect...

Bitter sadness

To find Nguyen Van Nghi (from Nghi Loc, Nghe An), I had to go through many rows of boarding houses for workers in Long Binh Industrial Park, Dong Nai. Finally, I found Nghi staying at a friend's house from the same hometown. Quickly rolling up the blanket on the messy bed, Nghi talked to me with a sad face: "I've been unemployed lately, depending on my friends from one to another." "How did it get to this point?" - I asked. Nghi sadly replied: "I was fired from the company. The reason was because we organized a strike. There was a female friend from my hometown who was pregnant and had morning sickness, so her productivity decreased, but they forced her to quit her job. My fellow countrymen were so upset that they quit their jobs in protest. After that, we were all fired." I asked, now that I lost my job, what should I do, do I plan to go back to my hometown, Nghi replied: "I have no intention of going back to my hometown. When I go back to my hometown, I can only rely on a few fields. So I'll just have to stay and look for opportunities." Nghi also seemed very worried when I intended to take a photo: "Don't take a photo of me and post it in the newspaper, in case my relatives at home see it they will be worried. I'm unemployed but I haven't told my parents yet."

A boarding house for Nghe people in an industrial park in Long Binh, Dong Nai

Near Nghi's place, I met my fellow countryman Phan Thi Xuan, from Dien Chau. Xuan had just found a job at Mitsuba Company, Long Binh Industrial Park, for a few days with a salary of 2.3 million VND a month. Xuan said: "I have been here for 10 years. I have worked in several jobs. Before working for Mitsuba, I spent 3 months looking for a job, and everywhere I went, I got the answer: "We do not accept Nghe An workers here". There was a company that accepted my application, wrote down my phone number and promised: "If they are still short of people, they will call". So even though the salary at Mitsuba is low, I still have to accept it. The company is not interested in Nghe Tinh workers, but even outside, people also rumor: Nghe Tinh people fight and cause trouble, so we are very sad. Actually, they are not wrong about this, there are still fights and disobeying orders from superiors, but that is when they see their people being bullied.

As for Tran Thi Nguyet, from Do Luong, currently working as a leather shoe worker at Bonschen Company, Tan Tao Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City, she said: “In our area, they still accept Nghe An workers, but only women, and definitely not men. They say that Nghe An men often fight and smoke during working hours...”.

Witnessing and listening to those feelings, I was reminded of a period of my own life. In 2000, I also applied for a job at a company in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City. Although I had surpassed other candidates, the Southern General Director did not agree with the reason that I was "Nghe An". He told the HR director: "It is best to hire Southerners, at most Northerners, and only if absolutely necessary, use Central people". After much persuasion, the General Director also accepted me to work with reservations. Then, on a business trip to the Central Highlands, when passing through the Singapore Industrial Park (Binh Duong province), there was a large sign hanging in front of the gate with the content: Need to recruit 500 general workers, salary and benefits according to State regulations, but below it was written: Do not accept Nghe An and Ha Tinh workers. The director pointed and said: "Nghe An people", I choked up and remained silent.

Why?

Workers in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces are mainly concentrated in industrial zones such as Binh Duong, Song Than (Binh Duong province), Bien Hoa 1, Bien Hoa 2, Nhon Trach (Dong Nai province) and Binh Chanh, Tan Tao (Ho Chi Minh City). When away from home, the mutual support and help of Nghe people is clearly revealed, this is the unique trait of our Nghe people that other lands cannot have. But from here, many bad habits are also born...

During a visit to a friend at the Binh Duong boarding house (Binh Duong), it was the 5th day but I saw that all the "Nghe people" of the 2 rows of 12-room boarding houses were at home. After asking, I learned that yesterday, a Nghe worker was criticized by the manager and had his salary deducted, so today everyone took a day off to protest and fight to protect their fellow countrymen.

Not only in domestic industrial zones, the internship recruitment programs (study and work) in Japan of some labor export companies also clearly state: Only recruit people with household registration from Quang Binh province and below.

Some Nghe An workers are sad because they are unemployed after losing their jobs.

On a trip to Korea, I went to the Ienchon Industrial Park to visit some friends who were working here as labor export workers. Knowing that there were fellow countrymen, my friend invited some Nghe An workers to his room and a drinking party was served with roasted pigeons as snacks. I was surprised that in this country there is also "national wine". Seeing my surprise, Long - a resident of Cuong Gian commune, Nghi Xuan said: "We cooked it, the yeast was sent from home". My eyes widened when I understood... In the afternoon, all 5 people took me for a walk in the square near the industrial park. There were many pigeons here, clinging to and boldly playing with passersby. And most of the residents here love and protect this bird species. While sitting down to rest by the fountain, Tien, from Vinh, took out a pack of biscuits from his jacket pocket and broke them into small pieces, throwing them to the flock of pigeons.... Suddenly, "crack", 2 pigeons were neatly placed in Tien's jacket. So this was the food...

Just that small detail alone partly explains why Nghe An workers have left a bad impression in the hearts of foreign employers in particular, leading to Nghe An workers often being "boycotted". Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh - Head of Long Binh Industrial Park (Dong Nai) said: The issue of Nghe An workers is indeed something employers are very concerned about, but a few years ago, due to labor shortages, they were forced to accept enough workers to meet the demand. But this year, the economic crisis occurred, many companies had to lay off workers. While there was a surplus of workers and a shortage of work, large companies had the opportunity to choose workers, not accepting Nghe An workers. He also commented: Nghe An people work hard, wholeheartedly but often oppose the company and have poor discipline, especially being sycophantic. On the contrary, people from other provinces are obedient, listen to whatever is said, but they do not work as hard and enthusiastically as Nghe An people.

We should frankly admit that: The boycott of Nghe workers is real, and the cause is primarily the workers. It is also necessary to affirm that the above bad habits of Nghe workers are not common, only a minority. Moreover, Nghe people are often straightforward, outspoken, tactless, and often "talk back and forth", so even if it is a small matter, it can easily cause misunderstandings for employers, in addition to their sycophantic nature. Nghe people are hard-working and enthusiastic, if employers do not properly evaluate their capacity and efforts, with that straightforward personality, it is natural that they will easily react. In particular, when employers have a discriminatory attitude, it is easier to create conflicts, which is an objective cause, and cannot be blamed on Nghe workers. Employers do not discriminate against any other factor other than efficiency, stable production brings profits to their company. In fact, Nghe An workers were initially trusted by employers because they had many good qualities such as diligence and hard work, especially the ability to grasp the assigned work quickly. But those qualities were no longer an advantage when some Nghe An workers began to show other characteristics, causing trouble for companies. Localism, conformity, and disregard for right and wrong made many employers afraid. In the integration trend, there is always a need to change and renew oneself to adapt, but Nghe An workers, although having worked in the South for several years, have not lost their inherent character, where the work requires industrial style and thinking.

Lawyer Tran Le Dinh, who specializes in consulting and resolving strikes for companies in Song Than Industrial Park, is also from Nghe An, but he also said with dismay: "Most of the strikes in the southern industrial parks are mainly initiated by Nghe An workers."

Besides the above-mentioned Nghe people who affect the evaluation and perception of employers, there are also many Nghe workers who quickly change themselves to meet the needs of new jobs and lives. Therefore, they still receive the trust of employers. Ms. Tran Thi Tai, from Do Luong, works at JH Vietnam handbag and backpack manufacturing company in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. She has been with this company for more than 10 years and is currently a line manager (45 workers). She said: "In Binh Duong and Dong Nai, Nghe workers lose trust because they cause it themselves, but many companies in Ho Chi Minh City still "prefer" Nghe workers."

Obviously, it is sad that Nghe An workers are being boycotted by some employers, but this is also an opportunity to force workers to look back at themselves. We call for promoting industrialization and modernization, but unfortunately, currently, vocational training institutions, secondary schools and even colleges and universities only focus on vocational training and professional skills, but have not paid attention to building the necessary soft skills for workers in the workplace to prepare for industrialization and modernization. Workers just need to be diligent, hard-working and skilled, but must also have professionalism, a high work culture, demonstrated by respect for discipline, only then can they meet the requirements of businesses.

If you want to industrialize and modernize, start with the people. Don't rely on and then blame "tradition". You need to quickly change and renew yourself to adapt to society.

The Son (Vinh City)