It takes a whole month to get used to the job
According to the unit, most of the domestic waste brought to the enterprise has not been sorted at source, has high humidity and contains many organic components. Many waste areas store it for 1-2 days, so when the truck just dumps it on the landfill, a strong stench rises, spreading throughout the factory. In that environment, dozens of workers stand by the production line, using their hands to separate each bag of waste to choose plastic, nylon, metal and recyclable materials.
Nearly 9 years working at the factory, Ms. Mai Thi Kieu still remembers the feelings of her early days at work.
When I first started working, I was always dizzy, sometimes I had to go up and down because I wasn't used to the smell. Then the sisters in the workshop guided me and I gradually got used to it" - Ms. Kieu recounted.
Ms. Kieu's shift with more than 20 workers at the Sorting Workshop starts from 9 am and usually ends around 5 pm, when the last garbage truck is processed. Throughout the shift, they stand continuously by the conveyor belt, taking advantage of eating quickly the rice they brought with them during short breaks.
Working here is mostly standing all the time, rarely having a place to sit and rest. But I'm used to it, so I find it normal" - Ms. Kieu said. The job brings a stable income for her to take care of her family. Every day, she gets up early to cook, take her children to school and then to the factory; in the afternoon after work, she is busy preparing meals for the whole family.
Not only Ms. Kieu, many workers at the factory have been attached to the garbage sorting job for many years. Ms. Duong Thi Phuong (53 years old) is one of such people. Nearly 10 years working at the factory, she considers this the main source of livelihood for her family. Before that, she had about 10 years working as an environmental sanitation worker, sweeping streets. After the payroll reduction, she had to quit her job for a while before returning to work at the factory.
When I first started working, the smell of garbage made me dizzy and nauseous like getting motion sickness.It took about a month or two to get used to it" - Ms. Phuong recalled.According to her, compared to the job of sweeping garbage on the street before, the current job helps avoid sun and rain exposure.However, the biggest pressure is having to stand for many hours and pick up garbage at the speed of a conveyor belt.
"Garbage runs down the machine, you have to pick it up continuously" - she said.
Ms. Phuong's family life is also very hard. Her husband used to work in the environmental sanitation team, passed away in 2013 after retiring for 3 years. Since then, she has become the pillar of the family. Her eldest child is affected by Agent Orange, so he is slow to develop and cannot work. All living expenses and childcare are based on a worker's salary of about 6 million VND per month.
The job is hard, but as long as there is income to raise children, I try to do it" - Ms. Phuong said.
Initiatives from workers
To improve work efficiency and save costs, many workers have proactively proposed improvement initiatives in the production process. In the past 2 years, the enterprise has coordinated with the collective of officials, employees and workers to apply more than 30 new initiatives and solutions, helping to operate waste sorting and treatment lines effectively and complete, exceeding the company's target by 28% each year.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang - Chairwoman of the grassroots Trade Union of Soc Trang Urban Works Joint Stock Company, the company fully implements regimes for employees such as paying salaries, paying social insurance and hazardous allowances. On holidays and Tet, workers also receive gifts from the company and the trade union. Female workers are also cared for on March 8, October 20 and are given periodic health check-ups twice a year.
In 2025, many female employees of the company were commended for their outstanding achievements: 77 women achieved the title of Advanced Laborer, 51 women achieved the title of Grassroots Emulation Soldier. Some individuals were also proposed to the People's Committee of Can Tho City and higher levels for commendation for their outstanding contributions.
