VietNamNet Bridge – Chili sauce, toilet paper, seasoning powder, shorts or cinema tickets have been given to workers as the rewards for their hard works for the companies in 2013.

As the companies’ coffers have got exhausted after a year of business failure, their managers have decided to give their staff the special gifts – the unsold products, the products paid by the partners for the fulfilled contracts instead of cash, or the partners’ inventories.

Chili sauce makes tears roll down on workers’ faces

A HCM City-based company has decided to give one carton with 30 chili sauce bottles to every of the 40 workers as a Tet bonus. The managers of the company would get two cartons for each.

Thi, who has been working for the company for three years, said this is the first time the company gives reward in kind instead of cash. However, it is foreseeable. The company repeatedly warned about the sharp decreases in turnover and profit before.

The chili sauce is the gift from a company’s partner and it has become the gift for the company’s workers.

Thi said she doesn’t know what to do with the reward. “I wish it was a carton of instant noodle or cookies. I hate chili,” she said.

She has been advised to give to her relatives in the home village as the Tet gifts. However, it is really not economical, because the transportation would be even more costly than the value of the gifts.

Toilet paper – an original initiative

A media company in Hoang Mai district in Hanoi some days ago informed that its staff would receive toilet paper as the Tet gifts.

The idea has surprisingly been appreciated by the company’s workers. “It is really ridiculous to reward with toilet paper. However, it is useful and necessary to everyone. And these are all the high quality products,” a worker said.

He went on to say that this is a good solution to both the company and staff. The former does not have to spend too much money on Tet bonuses, while workers can feel happy because they also have Tet gifts, worth VND300,000.

Seasoning powder, spices to please female workers

In early January 2014, a company in district 9 in HCM City informed that every worker would receive one basket of Tet gifts with different kinds of spices.

Nga, the company’s accountant, said workers the boss approved the budget of VND500,000 for every worker last year. However, this year’s budget has been cut to VND300,000 due to the bad business performance.

“The gifts would help workers save the money on species,” she said, adding that workers should feel happy because the gifts are more valuable than initially planned.

Cinema tickets to help workers relax

Dinh Thu Huyen, a worker for a foreign company, surprised her friends when saying that she would not have Tet bonuses, but would receive two cinema tickets instead. Huyen and her boyfriend would have the chance to watch 3D film at Megastar.

Long holiday – the unwanted awards

Hanh, a worker of a real estate firm in district 2 in HCM City, expects a long Tet holiday. The projects undertaken by the firm have been completed. In general, there is no job for workers on the days just after Tet.

Ngoc Ha