On December 18, the press conference to kick off the program “Xay Tet 2024” (Build Tet 2024) was held at the Headquarters of Nhan Dan Newspaper (Hanoi) by Coteccons and Nhan Dan Newspaper.
Grateful to the vulnerable, “on whose shoulders we stand for economic development”
Mr. Bolat Duisenov, Chairman of the BOD of Coteccons, started the speech with two photos capturing the working moments of workers at the construction site. The photo is beautiful thanks to the effects of sunlight, construction dust, and the majestic space, but behind it is the harsh reality that workers face every day: a heat level of up to 44 degrees Celsius radiating from the aluminum and glass surface, a height of several tens of meters where workers must hang on ropes, etc. What is even more stressful is ensuring the project progresses safely.
“The picture is beautiful, but it is essentially a very hard job. They sacrifice a lot every day,” shared Mr. Bolat
He called construction workers “the most vulnerable group in the construction industry value chain.” They are also the motivation for Coteccons, with the support and co-organization of Nhan Dan Newspaper, to carry out the program “Xay Tet 2024” to bring a warm and happy spring to workers.
Accordingly, “Build Tet 2024″ starts from December 23, 2023, to January 2024 on construction sites across 3 regions of the country, such as Hanoi, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh, Quang Ngai, and Ho Chi Minh City. Minh, Binh Duong…, in which the key activity takes place in Van Giang, Hung Yen, on January 9, 2024. “Build Tet 2024” will give away nearly 17,000 Tet gifts to encourage and motivate workers.
Besides gift-giving activities, Nhan Dan Newspaper and Coteccons will also organize Tet events with many activities, such as organizing haircuts at the construction site for workers, taking instant photos and giving away free tickets or buses back home, conducting medical examinations and health consultations at the construction site,…
“With the “Xay Tet 2024,” we not only take care of our workers but also want to send a message to the entire market about the need to care for the group of workers—the most vulnerable group in the construction chain. After operating for 20 years, we are quite proud to be among the top companies in the market. We want to create a message and appeal to our colleagues in the industry to share and pay more attention to these vulnerable groups.”
“Our mission is to create an impact that brings happiness to everyone. One of the first commitments is not to compromise on values that do not ensure worker safety. The next step is to create an impact for everyone by creating a safe working environment. Besides, try to invest in solutions and technology to minimize dangers for workers. Furthermore, we need to promote the meaning of workers’ work.”
“We do not want people to remember how much Coteccons has invested and how many gifts there are, but we only hope that people remember the contributions of our workers, the group of the vulnerable “on whose shoulders we stand for economic development.” I want everyone to recognize their contribution for their own smiles and happiness,” shared Mr. Bolat.
Comrade Le Quoc Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, and Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, said: “We hope to have the help of businesses, press, and media agencies so that the good values of the “Xay Tet 2024″ spread more strongly and widely in society, contributing to improving the quality of life and happiness index of Vietnamese people, looking forward to a joyful and happy 2024 Dragon Year for all families, and creating new momentum and new motivation to continue successfully implementing the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress.”
The fact that workers protest for wages is like cancer, causing people to lose trust.
I was very impressed with the statement in Coteccons’ introduction video that “We may have to work a bit more, but it will also be a bit more joyful.” Is there any way to make Tet come earlier, but it will also be a bit more joyful? Through the survey, what do the workers feel and what are their wishes?
Ms. Nguyen Trinh Thuy Trang, Chief of Staff: In construction, especially building factories, apartments, and hospitals, progress is one of the big pressures. Just 1 more week, or even 1-2 days, costs will increase a lot, leading to delayed delivery and affecting other value chains. For example, the factory cannot go into operation in time for orders. Or the apartment is not completed on schedule as committed by the investor to the customer, and the school is behind schedule when the back-to-school season arrives. We once completed factory construction in just 2 weeks in time for the investor to produce. That is the nature of the construction industry.
Ms. Nguyen Trinh Thuy Trang, Chief of Staff of Coteccons
For workers, when Tet comes, most people want to go back home early to reunite with their families after a hard year away from home. In that mood, they want to work even faster, leading to labor safety risks. That’s why we have supervisors to always remind workers to ensure labor safety.
This year, when surveying workers’ opinions, Coteccons found that health is their top concern. The first thing we tried to do was bring doctors and machines to screen workers for the risk of occupational diseases. Each worker is the economic breadwinner of the family.
The second is a haircut and photo shoot. For construction workers, it’s not simple that they just take photos with smartphones. Then they don’t have time to prepare for Tet. That’s why we do these activities.
What vision and development does Coteccons have in the long term?
Mr. Bolat Duisenov, Chairman of the BOD of Coteccons: Everyone can see that around this time, many construction workers put up signs demanding wages so they can go home to celebrate Tet. And these actions, no matter who they come from, are destroying the labor market in general and the construction industry in particular. From my perspective, these events are like cancer, making people tired and distrustful.
I see a trend of many construction workers moving to other occupations. Even though the salary is lower, they see it as reliable and certain. As one of the businesses operating in the construction industry, I want to spread respect and responsibility through this program. Behind each worker’s salary is the livelihood of the entire family. We want to contribute to treating this disease.
I also want to express my gratitude to the engineers who have accompanied Coteccons in this program. Besides, there are customers and investors who have compassionate hearts. They share and contribute to this activity so that the meaning of the program is spread.
ESG pioneers in the construction industry
Does the program pay more special attention to female workers to contribute to promoting gender equality? Through this program, what is Coteccons’ long-term vision for sustainable development?
Ms. Nguyen Trinh Thuy Trang, Chief of Staff of Coteccons: At Coteccons and Unicons construction sites, we pursue core values to create a working environment of diversity, fairness, and integration (DEI).
The Tet film represents Coteccons’ thanks to the builders
We create a comfortable working environment for female workers, not only during the Construction Tet program but throughout the year. For example, in the North, in the very hot summer, the Site Manager Board will give hats to female workers, provide iced lemonade, milk, fruit, raincoats, or extra warm clothes in the winter.
Secondly, at all our construction sites, there is a sign with a hotline to receive feedback 24/24, implementing anti-harassment laws, anti-discrimination between men and women, and regions.
Regarding sustainable development strategy, Coteccons sees Nhan Dan Newspaper’s vision of community programs, and we see that the whole system is following the ESG path. Coteccons is honored to accompany. We are committed to a sustainable development strategy that minimizes environmental impact, such as using recycled materials despite their high cost, planting forests over the years, and organizing marathons to mobilize capital to support people’s livelihoods. In addition, our employees also use leftover and old paint to support the community around construction sites through the “Our Home” project.
I want to emphasize that ESG, or sustainable development, is not a movement to build a brand. We take this seriously, through very important counting and counting activities. We have a whole team of experts, devoting 100% of our time to doing this towards the Prime Minister’s NetZero goal.
Over the past two years, we have built the foundation. From 2024 on, we hope Nhan Dan Newspaper will accompany us. In the field of construction, Coteccons is one of the leading businesses and plays the role of a pioneer, creating practices and methods and being willing to share those methods with businesses in the industry. The more people who know and participate, the better.
Mr. Bolat Duisenov, Chairman of the BOD of Coteccons: We do not focus on the number of activities, or the amount of money spent. The most important thing is to create a spread and attract more compassionate hearts. That is the concern of about 2,000 Coteccons engineers. We will continue to research so that the next programs attract hearts, create influence, and spread. It’s important; we don’t do it because it’s trendy.
Mr. Le Quoc Minh and Mr. Bolat Duisenov gave gifts as a thank you for their cooperation and working together to build Tet for workers.
For us, ESG is not a guidebook to complete items. We must think more about the basic requirements of a human being—something that requires empathy for human values to be able to think about. For example, spending money to make clean toilets for workers, providing clean filtered water for workers, etc. That’s what we call ESG.
What are Nhan Dan Newspaper’s long-term goals and expectations for the “Xay Tet 2024” program?
Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper: On January 9, 2024, the “Xay Tet” program will officially launch in Hung Yen. Events are important milestones to measure the effectiveness of the program. We hope to be able to spread the spirit and care for the health and lives of workers. Companies and businesses have many effective ways, but only on an internal scale. I hope that with the scale of the Tet Construction program, in the construction field there will be many investors, contractors, businesses, etc. willing to participate. For example, this year, we have hospitals accompanying us.
“Build Tet 2024” hopes to spread the philosophy of sharing and a culture of gratitude to the entire construction chain and the community in general.
We want to inspire other businesses and organizations to diversify and be more creative in their activities.
