Although it is not a state-owned enterprise, An Thien Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (located in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park, Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City) has implemented a 44-hour workweek for several years. This policy has received the consensus of all employees.
Arranging Working Hours Reasonably
Mr. Le Dinh Chi, the company’s Human Resources Director, said that previously, the company applied a 48-hour workweek. Employees worked 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, not including overtime. This caused difficulties for a significant number of employees as the factory is quite far from their residences.
Out of the employees’ wishes, the Labor Union proposed to the board of directors to reduce the working hours from 48 to 44 hours per week. At the same time, the company arranged for them to have a day off every week. Instead of working 4 hours every Saturday morning, the company accumulated the working hours over two consecutive weeks so that employees could have two full Saturdays off each month. Recognizing the proposal’s reasonableness, the board of directors agreed and officially reduced the working hours from 2017.
Along with reducing working hours, the company also focused on investing in new machinery and technology to help employees improve their labor productivity and, thereby, their income. Mr. Huynh Thanh Phong, an employee of the company, shared, “What satisfies me about working for this company is that I am always fairly compensated. In addition, the reasonable working hours allow us to have time to rest and take care of our families.”
Although it is a labor-intensive company, May Tran Truc Co., Ltd. (located in District 6) has hardly organized overtime work for its employees in recent years. Employees only work 8 hours a day, but their income remains stable at over VND 8 million per person per month. As a result, they have time to take care of their families and regenerate their labor force.
According to Ms. Duong Thi Tuyet Lan, Chairman of the Company’s Labor Union, the majority of the company’s employees are female, and many have been with the company since its inception, despite going through many difficult periods. “Female laborers face a lot of pressure, so to create favorable conditions for them to do their jobs well and take care of their families, the company only works during official hours and is flexible with time so that they can take care of their children,” said Ms. Lan.
“In addition, the company also builds many welfare policies, such as phone bills, attendance allowances, housing support, etc., to help employees reduce the burden of living costs,” she shared. To ensure employees’ income, the Labor Union always encourages employees to improve their skills to enhance labor productivity.
Employees at An Thien Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company only work 44 hours a week. Photo: THANH YEN
Investing in Technology and Improving Vocational Skills
In the last three years, Kim Tower Construction Mechanics Joint Stock Company (specializing in manufacturing and installing steel structural mechanical products, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) has spent at least VND 10 billion on investing in modern equipment and machinery to expand production, improve labor productivity, and meet strict customer standards.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Chairman of the Company’s Labor Union, said that promoting the automation of the production process also helps employees shorten their working hours and limit overtime. Previously, many production stages used old equipment and tools, resulting in low productivity, and employees had to work overtime frequently to keep up with order progress.
With the company’s investment in new equipment and technology, employees’ labor productivity has improved significantly, and overtime has been considerably reduced. Currently, the average income of more than 120 direct production employees at the company is about VND 14 million per person per month.
Since 2019, Cholimex Food Joint Stock Company (located in Vinh Loc Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City) has always faced a labor shortage. To keep up with order progress, the company continuously arranges overtime for its employees, but this is not a fundamental solution.
Ms. Phung Thi Huu Hanh, Director of the Company’s Food Processing Workshop, said that to solve this problem, the company’s board of directors determined to automate the production process and encourage employees to actively research and manufacture machinery and equipment to replace labor. As a result, productivity increased manifold, and employees’ income improved significantly (over VND 10 million per person per month).
“The policy of reducing working hours not only encourages employees to increase productivity but also to work more efficiently and creatively. Importantly, employees have more time to rest and regenerate their labor force,” affirmed Mr. Le Dinh Chi, Director of Administration and Human Resources of An Thien Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.
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