(VOVworld) - Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the Executive Board and General Director of the Sai Gon 3 Garment Company, has received the honorary title Labor Hero. To celebrate Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day on October 13, our program today introduces outstanding businessman Pham Xuan Hong and his business views.
Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the Executive Board and General Director of the Sai Gon 3 Garment Company
|
Hong has worked hard to make his company a joint-stock company and a leader in the garment and textile sector. The company’s management recognizes that the garment and textile sector employs mostly unskilled workers from poor rural areas, and they have always tried to guarantee their employees stable work and income. Hong says labor is the key factor in the company’s growth. "Sai Gon 3 has experienced up and down periods. We once had to borrow money and sell everything in inventory to pay the workers’ salaries. After that the workers trusted the leadership and cooperated with us to overcome our difficulties. I acknowledge the workers’ tremendous effort. My part was very small,"Hong says.
When the company suffered from the economic crisis in 2008, many people suggested reducing employees. But Hong refused to sack a single worker. Instead he cut the salaries of the Executive Board and other costs. The Sai Gon 3 company’s production was running normally with 2,800 workers with an average monthly salary of 300 USD. After the Lunar New Year festival, many companies were operating at a reduced rate because of a worker shortage, but Sai Gon 3 already had sufficient workers. Many of Hong’s colleagues admire his deep insights.
Hong has gained respect from his colleagues and partners for his decisiveness, experience in negotiating contracts, and reliability. Sai Gon 3 has exported to new markets in South Korea, Eastern Europe, and South America in addition to its traditional markets in Japan, the US, and the EU. Hong attributs his company’s success to its leadership’s unity and its skillful workers. Employee Tran Dang Vuong says: "It’s friendly to work here. The Directorate has supported and cared for the workers’ lives by generating more work and higher incomes. I am a former soldier and I recognize that the company has a good working environment."
Hong considers workers’ rights a priority, which means the company takes responsibility for its families’ lives and health. Workers who have children going to school receive a monthly allowance and scholarships. For seriously ill workers, the company has paid thousands of USD for their treatment and Hong himself and the company’s social organizations have visited them regularly. Nguyen Buu Xuyen who works for Sai Gon 3 shares his feeling: "Hong is a good director, and is considered a father or uncle. He even cares about the workers’ meals and sleep. We are young members of the Youth Union, and Hong was a former Youth Union official. He always joins our activities even though he’s older now. He is a respectful man."
This year, the Sai Gon 3 company expects revenues of 80 million USD, 10% more than last year, but the profit will be lower because of high costs. Hong and the leadership agree that their responsibility is to seek more contracts to ensure a stable income for their workers.