A man in Ho Chi Minh City, who is also the victim of a firm closedown and runaway boss last month, has volunteered to give almost 400 unfortunate workers a second chance.

He decided to pay them their salaries, which amounted to VND2.5 billion (US$117,925), and even find them new jobs.

When the South Korean directorate of PIA Toan Cau Co., based in District 12, ran away on April 10, two days before the company payday, they caused serious chaos among 385 disoriented, desperate workers.

Nguyen Huu Nghia, 53, pacified the workers and tried every way possible to get them over the crisis.

The victim and savior

Nghia, who leased his land to PIA Toan Cau Co. as their factory, was also shocked when he learned that its directorate took flight, as they owed him four months of rent, worth some 1 billion ($47,170).

Having never experienced such an incident before, he initially resigned himself to it and left it to the mercy of the local government.

However, whenever he stopped by the premises, workers kept begging him for help.

Unable to stand witnessing the misery of the workers, including seven pregnant women, who did not have money to pay their rent or for meals and other expenses. Nghia decided to take action and became set on doing something to help.

From his research on similar cases, he learned that things always come to a standstill, as premises, machinery and products are all sealed off for a year by the local government. 

Workers can receive a grant of VND1 million ($47) as a mere compensation especially after such a long wait.

Two weeks after the closedown, Nghia appealed for assistance from PIA’s partners, but with little success.

After one night of thinking hard, he decided to pay the workers’ overdue salaries with his own money.

Unable to afford VND2.5 billion worth of salaries, he paid part of the amount first and borrowed VND500 million to pay off the rest later.

He also carefully kept the money which a number of workers, who are working temporarily elsewhere, failed to get on time.

Apart from paying the workers’ salaries by May 10, Nghia also signed the lease contract with a company who agreed to employ all of the workers and offer them the same rates of salary, bonus and maternity subsidy as PIA did.

On Monday, all the workers began working at the new company.

Nghia joined the army and was discharged in 1980 with a permanent injury to his lungs.

Despite his injury, he has been good at business. He was once famous and covered by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper for producing T-shirts with lung X-ray images printed on them.

In 2001, he bought plots of land to build a garment company. Six years later, he began leasing them to factory owners, which has been his family’s only source of income.

“Around the time of the closedown, my two kids who are studying in the U.S. also needed money to pay their tuition. But their tuition can wait, while the workers’ problems were much more pressing. I usually do charity work, now how can I turn a blind eye to those who need my help the most?” Nghia shared.

Representatives of the District 12 Office of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said they agreed to allow Nghia to pay PIA’s debts to its workers, which is unprecedented in District 12.

Nghia shared that though he is not sure if he will ever reclaim the VND2.5 billion he paid on the workers’ salaries, he is happy that his deed helped them survive the crisis.

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