Helping employees use social media safely

Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation (Trang Bom Ward) is a wholly foreign-invested enterprise specializing in manufacturing and processing mechanical products, motorcycle parts, automotive components, all-terrain vehicles, and related items.

The company currently has more than 1,400 employees, and its Party cell has 17 members. Over the past period, the Party Cell Committee, Secretary of the Party Cell, and members have consistently focused on conducting outreach, raising awareness, and developing workers’ skills in identifying harmful, toxic, and false information. These efforts help workers use social media safely, proactively prevent scams, and avoid falling victim to malicious actors.

Maintaining ideological stability

According to Nguyen Van Tiep, Secretary of the Party Cell and Chairman of the Grassroots Trade Union (TU) at Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation, almost everyone today has a personal mobile phone and uses social media. Workers and employees in industrial parks, especially those living away from home, regularly use Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms after work to catch up on the news, watch videos, buy and sell online, and stay in touch with family and friends.

Party members and TU officials at Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation discuss skills for using social media safely.

While social media and online platforms bring convenience to daily life, their development also carries potential risks involving information security, fraud, and property misappropriation.

Information about wages, social insurance, overtime, and employment is always a top concern for workers. Exploiting these concerns, malicious actors use various fraudulent tactics, including advertisements for easy jobs with high salaries, online sales collaborator positions, financial investments, and app-based loans. When workers trust and share information on social media without carefully checking it, they can easily be psychologically affected or misunderstand the issues.

Nguyen Van Tiep said, “As a Party member and TU official, I see that maintaining ideological stability among workers is now crucial. This is not solely the responsibility of the Party or the TU organization; every official and Party member in the company must take responsibility and get involved.”

According to Tiep, when workers are employed by the company, their greatest concerns remain stable employment, sufficient income to cover living expenses, and guaranteed rights. If they are constantly exposed to negative reports about production difficulties, job shortages, low income, and precarious employment across various regions, anxiety among workers becomes inevitable.

Sharing skills and providing guidance on social media use

Kieu Thi Hang, a member of Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation’s Party Cell and Executive Board of its Grassroots TU, noted that amid a flood of intertwined authentic and fraudulent information, not everyone can keep a clear head to distinguish right from wrong. Within an enterprise, even a single unverified rumor about wages, insurance, or employment can quickly become a major topic of conversation among workers. Inaccurate information about social insurance has at times circulated, fueling widespread anxiety. In such situations, Party members and TU officials have promptly stepped in to clarify matters and ease employees’ concerns.

Through Party cell meetings, regular activities of mass organizations, and informal conversations after work, Party members and TU officials explain regulations on insurance, wages, labor contracts, and legitimate rights to workers. Once employees are provided with clear information, they feel more comfortable.

For outreach and mobilization efforts to be effective, Party members and TU officials need to maintain close contact with workers, listen to them, and discuss practical concerns with them. According to Hang, grassroots experience shows that employees tend to be more united where Party and TU organizations operate effectively.

At Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation, the TU regularly visits workers facing difficult circumstances, supports employees coping with serious illnesses, distributes gifts during holidays and Tet, organizes cultural and sports activities after shifts or on festive occasions, and provides occupational safety guidance.

“Through friendly visits and conversations, workers find relief from stress and place greater trust in the socio-political organizations within the company. As a result, misleading information on social media does not affect our workforce,” said Kieu Thi Hang.

According to Party Cell Secretary Nguyen Van Tiep, alongside providing information and clarifying matters of interest to workers and offering guidance on using social media for its intended purposes, Party members and TU officials must lead by example in how they receive and share information. Specifically, they must refrain from sharing unverified information, read information thoroughly before commenting, actively promote positive information, and explain issues clearly to employees whenever misinformation emerges.

Employees often form their opinions by observing the conduct and work ethic of Party members and TU officials. Each Party member must therefore remain responsible, approachable, and exemplary in daily work. Maintaining trust within the workforce contributes to ideological stability among employees, thereby helping make the enterprise’s production operations more stable.

Nguyen Van Tiep, Secretary of the Party Cell and Chairman of the Grassroots TU at Global Powersports Manufacturing Incorporation, said the company’s employees consistently maintain a commitment to self-directed learning. The company also regularly holds training sessions on equipment operation and maintenance skills and provides updates on new technological developments. The facility’s automation rate has surpassed 70%.

Drawing on more than a decade of experience at the company, Nguyen Van Tiep observed that safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation is not a distant concept. It can begin with simple actions, such as reading information carefully before believing it, refraining from sharing unverified news, listening to and supporting one another, and maintaining solidarity within the collective. When each individual takes greater responsibility, the working environment becomes more stable, and misinformation is less likely to affect employees.

By Phuong Hang – Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha