Digital transformation and communication challenges for workers in the Textile and Garment industry

Workers' access to information tends to shift

MSc. Pham Thi Thanh Tam - host of the VGCL-level topic "Enhancing information access capacity of Vietnamese textile and garment workers". The survey results during the implementation of the theme show that 77.6% of employees rate access to information as very effective, but 56.9% of survey respondents said that the form of communication needs to be strongly improved to suit the young labor group, Gen Z. This group is gradually becoming the main force in factories.

The textile and garment industry currently employs more than 2.5 million workers, mainly women, working in a concentrated industrial production environment. Through field research and large-scale surveys, the research team identified a number of issues, in which the behavior of employees' access to information is shifting from traditional channels (internal leoing, group meetings at the beginning of the shift...) to digital platforms, especially social networks. Information processing, analysis and criticism skills are still limited.

In addition, businesses and trade unions play a leading role in providing information, however, the level of initiative, transparency and the ability to respond in both directions are not uniform. Some places still consider information as "internal" or "leak risk", leading to un really close labor relations. Although the internal communication institution has developed, from the newsletters, broadcasts, social networking sites of the Trade Union to electronic interaction platforms, the form of expression is not attractive enough, lacking classification according to demographic characteristics (age, gender, region, level).

According to MSc Pham Thi Thanh Tam, one of the biggest challenges today is not a tool, but an approach to information issues as a development strategy. Small and medium -sized enterprises account for more than 88% of the textile industry, most of them do not have the internal communications department. The dissemination of information is mainly through the text stickers, word of mouth or zalo group. The three major issues now are lack of systems, lack of storage and lack of dialogue.

The educational qualifications of workers are still limited, with 84.4% being unskilled workers. Search skills are also weak, making reading comprehension, interaction and information use an invisible obstacle, making them become aged instead of oted subjects.

Although the law gives grassroots trade unions the right to supervision, they still operate under a popular concurrent model, lacking human resources and expertise in communication and technology, leading to limited information transmission roles.

Improving communication skills for grassroots union officials

At the seminar, MSc Nguyen Dinh Thanh - co -founder of Elite PR School - analyzed that digital transformation will have a great impact on the communication of the Trade Union, especially in the textile industry. Difficulties stemming from the sharp increase in the amount of information, with the opinions of union members and employees appearing on many different channels, from tradition, press to social networks, chat software and online entertainment spaces. In addition, the habit of receiving information of employees also changes, with the trend of consumption through images, audio (podcast), infographic, video, live stream and live Q&A, requiring communication to constantly update form and content.

In reality, it requires union communication workers to be able to process information quickly, produce news in a timely manner, and grasp public opinion quickly.

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Trang - Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Phong Phu Joint Stock Corporation - affirmed that building an effective internal communication system is necessary to ensure that employees are updated with accurate, transparent and timely information. This helps employees quickly grasp policies, plans and changes from leaders, while raising awareness of their rights, obligations and responsibilities, limiting rumors and information harassment. The communication system also creates space for employees to listen and respond, building a trusting relationship between management and employees.

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