Yes, it should be "the factory worlds" instead of "a factory world" because there are actually completely different worlds in different factories with (of course) different life-stories of factory workers. That's what I learned from the field trips to Hanosimex- a State-owned sewing company in Linh Nam and Yamaha- a Japanese motorbike company in Noi Bai.
First off, Hanosimex brought me the feeling of a "very Vietnamese" company, which warmly welcomed us with water bottle on the long table and a sort of long speech made by a company leader in the meeting hall, decorated with red curtains, yellow stars, slogans, Uncle Ho statue...The first machinery workshop was so noisy with loud sewing machines and a little polluted with fibre and cotton-wool flying on the air. Although I found that area was really interesting with modern machines, soft cotton made every minutes, it is still considered as uncomfortable working place for me that reminding me how hard the workers have to suffer to produce a small amount of cotton in the factory.
The second sewing workshop, where people sew cloths, warp T-shirts, cut the wasted stuffs out of the jeans..., surprised me with the music entertaining for all workers. Loudly sounds and smooth music- such a distinction ! The workers in Hanosimex don't wear uniform, making the whole factory colorful and lively- at least, personally I think so :P. People seem to be close to each other, enjoy their job and really hard working folks. In general, it's still there- the feeling of a "very Vietnamese" company, where workers don't need to hurry, wear their own "random" clothes, stay together in the dormitory of the company, just a few walking distance far from the working area... They have time to chat, discuss, rest and even... catch the fish in the water basin (along with Emily :) )
The second factory- Yamaha impressed me firstly by the bright, large and white meeting hall, which strongly reminded me of "Resident Evil" :P.
The factory is very well organized, professional with a lot of assembly machines, workers in uniform, the electronic watch counting productivity and target achievement, the board with bad products... Yamaha differently brought me a real picture of capitalist factory, highly specialized labor force, strict regulations... The fact that Yamaha only signs the contract for worker around 1 year and sign another year contract to them if they perform well at work may cause the competition among workers encouraging them to work as much as they can. Walking in Yamaha (without taking any picture) for a while and seeing people working so fast near the assembly lines, I understand why they say: "Money never sleeps"
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