Nghe An: Textile and garment enterprises "retain" workers

At the beginning of the year, many garment export enterprises started production with the goal of winning right from the first month. In the photo: Haivina Kim Lien Company's export garment line. Photo: Thu Huyen

Businesses retain workers

These days, the production atmosphere at Hoang Thi Loan Textile Joint Stock Company is very bustling.Mr. Phan Xuan Hoi - Deputy Director of the company said that since the 5th day of Tet, workers have been working on production shifts. The company has 930 employees, unlike previous years, this year there has been less fluctuation after Tet, up to this point there are less than 30 absentees. This year, the company set a target of achieving an output of 18,000 tons of yarn, with a turnover of 1,100 billion VND; an increase of about 10% compared to last year.

To achieve the goal, one of the important solutions proposed by business leaders is to continue training, recruiting and having many measures to ensure income for workers, so that workers can feel secure in staying with the factory.

Yarn production line of Hoang Thi Loan Company. Photo: Thu Huyen

Minh Anh Garment Group has 4,000 employees, of which: Minh Anh - Kim Lien: 1,800 employees; Minh Anh - Do Luong: 2,400 employees; by the end of the first quarter of 2019, when phase II comes into operation, it will recruit 5,000 more employees. Currently, Minh Anh Garment Group is investing in construction on an area of ​​9 hectares in Ky Tan commune, Tan Ky district with a total investment of about 500 billion VND; after the project comes into operation, the company will create jobs for about 6,500 employees. This Group commits to arranging jobs at the factory for children of households whose land is recovered to invest in factory construction. Thus, the Group's demand for labor recruitment is very large.

The administrative head of Minh Anh - Kim Lien Garment Company said that the company currently has 1,800 workers, of which 90% are workers in the province, some in Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh. Most of the workers are in Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong districts..., with an average income of 6.8 million VND/person/month. After Tet, over 95% of the workers went to work; the absentees mainly went to work abroad or did military service. "Compared to previous years, this year the situation of workers going to work after Tet is stable, before it was only maintained at 85 - 90%".

With many policies to ensure workers' lives, many garment factories maintain stable production after Tet. Photo: Thu Huyen

It can be said that, thanks to the factory being located near their homes, many workers have stable jobs and incomes; they have the conditions to "leave farming" without having to leave their hometowns... In Yen Thanh district, Ms. Hoa in Tang Thanh commune, who works for a garment company in the area, said that she used to work for a garment company in Bac Ninh, but after returning to her hometown and hearing that a new garment factory had opened in town, she applied for a job.

"After 4 years of working away from home, for the past 2 years I have returned to work as a factory worker in my hometown. The income there is a little higher, but I have to rent a house, far away from my children and family. Now I work closer to home and feel more secure, I go to work in the morning and come home in the evening to take care of my children, I don't have to rent a house so I can save money" - Ms. Hoa shared.

To encourage and motivate workers to work with peace of mind, in addition to full salary and insurance, businesses also support fuel expenses for travel and visit workers in difficult circumstances. Active workers are rewarded during holidays and Tet with motorbikes, electric bicycles, televisions, phones, etc. Many companies have spent billions of dong to support workers' welfare and build houses for workers in especially difficult circumstances. Therefore, according to Nghe An Newspaper, the situation of workers working in textile factories is increasingly stable, the phenomenon of job-hopping after Tet is very rare, investors are more secure with human resources after making large investments in factories.

Textiles maintain appeal

Thanks to the advantages of land and available human resources, textiles are currently one of the strengths in attracting investment in Nghe An. In a short time, it has attracted many large investors to this field.

According to incomplete statistics, in the province there are 14 garment projects invested in construction and put into operation, creating jobs for more than 15,000 workers, mainly in rural areas. Garment factories and establishments have been concentrated and developed in recent times in Vinh City, Thai Hoa Town, Hoang Mai Town, and the centers of Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, and Nam Dan districts. According to the assessment of business owners, the skill level, awareness of workers, and labor productivity have been significantly improved, meeting the strict requirements of the US, EU, and Japanese markets. The problem of surplus labor has been solved, and rural workers have the opportunity to "leave the farm and never leave their hometown", changing the economic face of rural areas.

With the market potential and attractiveness of available human resources, relatively favorable seaport traffic infrastructure for production and export, and attractive investment attraction policies, Nghe An textile and garment industry has developed quite strongly; attracting many domestic and foreign branded investors such as: Hanosimex, Vinatex, Venture (Netherlands), Hyujin Group, KIDO (Korea)... With large-scale export garment production lines such as: Havina Kim Lien Garment Factory with nearly 4,000 workers; Prex Vinh Garment Factory (Do Luong) with 3,000 workers, Hanosimex Nam Dan Branch with 1,500 workers...

Textile workers. Photo by Thu Huyen

In 2018, the textile and garment group continued to rank in the leading position, reaching 188.68 million USD, up 10.9% over the same period in 2017, accounting for 26.5% of total export turnover. In the coming years, the textile and garment group will continue to be identified as the key export group of Nghe An province.

According to the leader of the Department of Industry and Trade, in the development planning for the period 2016 - 2020, priority is given to creating favorable conditions to accelerate investment progress to expand existing projects. In addition, developing concentrated fiber and textile production clusters in industrial parks and industrial clusters with infrastructure, attracting investment in factories producing raw materials for the garment industry and mechanical spare parts for the textile industry in VSIP Nghe An Urban and Service Industrial Park, Tho Loc Industrial Park, Hemaraj Urban and Service Industrial Park, etc.

However, the problem now is that the textile and garment supporting industry has not yet developed. Up to now, there are 2 production facilities: Vinh yarn factory (scale of 10,000 - 15,000 tons of various types of yarn/year) serving the textile industry nationwide and 1 embroidery facility (Lac Son Industrial Park, Do Luong) with a workforce of 150 - 200 people, embroidering accessories for garment factories of Havina Kim Lien Company and Prex Vinh Company Limited. Therefore, in the coming time, the province will focus on attracting this field.

Textile factories have been invested in many localities, attracting local labor resources. Photo: Thu Huyen

“The trend of textiles and garments shifting to Nghe An creates jobs for idle agricultural workers and increases export value, but the future of sufficient labor resources to meet the needs of businesses is a difficult problem. This is a problem that departments, branches, employment centers, and vocational training schools need to pay attention to in order to improve the quality and quantity of training for industrial garment workers for workers in the province, especially opening more training courses for technical staff in the garment industry with university and college degrees to have a local supply to meet the needs of businesses” - the leader of a textile and garment enterprise in Nghe An worried.

With the attraction of investment and socio-economic development of the province, many investors have chosen Nghe An as a place to "deposit gold".

At the recent Meeting with Investors, among the 13 projects that were awarded investment policy approval/investment registration certificates, textile and garment continued to have many projects awarded. These are: Vinhtech textile and garment project invested by Royal Pagoda Private Limited, Singapore with a total capital of 4,649 billion VND; Export garment factory project of Nam Thuan Nghe An Joint Stock Company in Dien My commune, Dien Chau district with a total investment of 118 billion VND; Delta Vinh garment factory project of Delta Vinh garment company in VSIP Industrial Park with a total investment of 92 billion VND; Halotexco garment joint stock company construction investment project of Halotexco joint stock company in Phuc Tho commune, Nghi Loc district with a total investment of 59 billion VND.

In addition to the labor issue, the current difficulty facing the textile industry is the lack of accessories; everything from needles and threads to buttons... must be imported from abroad. Photo: Thu Huyen

In addition, many projects signed investment agreements: Minh Anh Tan Ky Garment Factory Project of Minh Anh Group Joint Stock Company in Tan Ky district with a total investment of 500 billion VND; Fashion design center project, development of distribution and production of garments of Vietsun Hoang Mai Investment Company Limited in Quynh Di ward, Hoang Mai town with a total investment of 200 billion VND; Export garment factory project of Foremart Corporation (Korea) in Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district with a total investment of 139 billion VND.

Thus, in the coming time, Nghe An will have many garment factories springing up, so competition in labor recruitment is a problem for many businesses, especially for businesses that need a lot of labor such as the textile and garment sector. Therefore, to ensure stable development, the locality and businesses need to coordinate synchronous investment in infrastructure; build public welfare works such as: nurseries, kindergartens, collective kitchens and housing, ensure stable life and living for workers, in order to retain workers. Only then will workers feel secure in staying at the factory and businesses will stabilize production and develop sustainably.