The workers’ young children are most eager for the monthly event

A company under a military corps stationed in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has offered collective breakfasts to workers on a monthly basis to foster bonds and relieve their daily grind.

The initiative of serving ‘grand’ monthly breakfasts, called Bua Sang Bien Gioi (Breakfasts at the Border Area), was launched at Company 78 under Corps 15’s National Defense Economic Division 78 in June 2017.

Around 6:30 in the morning the other day, dozens of round tables and hundreds of chairs were arranged neatly at the hall of Production Team No. 6, stationed in Mo Rai Commune, Sa Thay District.

Workers, several of whom did not have time to change out of their stained work uniforms after picking rubber tree latex in their early morning shift, were chatting merrily with their co-workers, while their children were frolicking and expectantly waiting for the ‘feast’ to be served.

Nearly ten members of the organizing board were busy laying the table and topping containers with the freshly prepared delectable food.

“It’s our turn to prepare and serve the meal. As each hamlet is made up of two teams, half of the households do not prepare breakfast once each month. It’s a lot of fun,” Lieutenant Kim Ngoc Biet, head of Team 6, gladly said.

Bui Thi Hoa, 26, who hails from the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, shared she and her husband have worked at the company as rubber latex collectors since 2014.  

The couple also took along their six-year-old son so that he could have fun with his peers.

“The High Command members personally visited each of us the previous day to extend the invitation to the party. The dishes are well prepared and there are several delicacies to choose from,” Hoa added.

Like Hoa, Le Thi My Binh, 35, also from Thanh Hoa Province, had made it to the gathering for the second time.

“We have our hands full with our work, so we don’t have time to take good care of our family and meet one another,” she said, adding she usually fails to cook her family proper breakfasts as she goes to work at 2:00 in the morning and does not get back home until the morning.

“We are deeply moved by the new directorate’s considerateness and feel bonded to the company. The work is quite taxing, but provides us with stable incomes compared to those earned in our hometown,” Binh added.   

At 7:00 am sharply in the morning, Major Nguyen Hong Lam, director of Co. 78, personally invited the attendees to take seats at the tables, which they did promptly in a military-like manner.

The company’s directorate always make it a point to join the cosy gatherings.

H Rach Lao, chairman of the Mo Rai Commune People’s Committee, was also invited to the cordial get-together.

“The chair of Sa Thay District People’s Committee, who took part in the last event, was really impressed,” Lao said.

“The name of the get-together, Bua Sang Bien Gioi, was also rich in meaning. As a border locality, Mo Rai Commune is more than 60km from the district center. In this far-flung area, such gatherings are a ‘glue’ to bond the company and the workers,” he stressed.   

According to Major Do Ngoc Hong, head of the facility’s machinery and breeding team who was also in charge of the food catering at that event, the number of attendees typically fluctuated between 160 and 300.

They got up at 2:00 am that morning to prepare the six-course meal for those 180 diners.       

“We recently launched our own farms to raise pigs and grow vegetables to provide for the meals and cater to staffers’ daily needs. The breakfasts cost VND2-2.2 million (US$87-96) each and would cost double if we source ingredients from outside,” Major Hong added.

Before proposing toasts at the tables, the company directorate went to exchange greetings with a number of workers’ parents at a special table.

Several of them came to visit their children while others moved in with their children’s family.

The parents, a few of whom were in their traditional ethnic minority outfits, were farmers or war veterans.

Luc Cao Diem, 58, a war veteran from Thanh Hoa Province, and his wife moved in with his son’s family three years ago.

He revealed all his three children were working at Co. 78 as latex collectors and nurse and had afforded their own homes.  

“It’s a snug, affable community indeed. People really care for one another,” he observed.

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Xuan Hien, Co. 78’s deputy director, came up with the idea of launching the get-togethers as his heart ached seeing the workers eating nutrient-poor, hasty breakfasts before starting a day’s arduous work.

The breakfasts, offered on a regular basis, would also provide relief for female laborers who do not have enough time for their young children in the morning.

Sr. Lieut. Hien’s initiative was enthusiastically embraced by the management and implemented only three days later at Team 6.

“The workers have expressed their wish that the gatherings be held on a bimonthly basis, which is also what we desire despite the shortage of cooks and caterers,” Major Hong explained.