Workers leave the city to return to their hometowns to be closer to their children.

Childcare services available during parents' work shifts.

On October 8th, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) organized a seminar titled "Supporting workers in industrial parks and export processing zones in caring for and raising their children - proposals and recommendations".

At the conference, Ms. Tran Thu Phuong, Deputy Head of the Women's Affairs Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, stated: "Due to the specific characteristics of workers in export processing zones and industrial parks, most of whom are young, the demand for preschool childcare among workers is increasing."

According to Ms. Le Thi Le Huyen, Vice President of the Trade Union of Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks in Ho Chi Minh City, the Trade Union currently has 732 grassroots trade unions with more than 130,000 female workers, many of whom have young children. The nature of the workers' schedules requires overtime, and everyone needs to send their young children (a few months old) to daycare, but finding suitable preschools is very difficult.

Therefore, Ms. Le Huyen proposed piloting a preschool education model to serve the children of workers with specific characteristics such as accepting children of various ages, childcare according to parents' shifts, and childcare outside of working hours…

Delegates reported that the majority of workers have to send their young children back to their hometowns to be cared for by their grandparents (Photo: Contributor).

Ms. Pham Thi Hong Ha, from the Trade Union of Saigon Food Joint Stock Company, reflected: "Currently, industrial parks and export processing zones lack infrastructure and facilities to support childcare, such as nurseries, kindergartens, and recreational areas..."

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Chairman of the Trade Union of Dai Dung Mechanical and Trading Joint Stock Company, said that the company has many programs to care for the children of its workers. Each factory in the company has accommodation facilities for its employees.

However, he noted that there is a phenomenon of workers migrating from large industrial zones in Ho Chi Minh City back to their hometowns to work so they can be with their young children.

The reason is that life in big cities is difficult, and it's hard to find childcare that fits the high cost of living and high working conditions. Recently, many workers have had to choose to send their children back to their hometowns to be cared for by their grandparents.

In such cases, children grow up without their parents present, lacking adequate care, or, conversely, grandparents spoil their grandchildren excessively because they feel they lack parental affection. Many negative consequences arise from this situation, and many children do not receive a proper education and upbringing.

Therefore, Mr. Hung suggested that schools should be built for the children of workers so that laborers can work with peace of mind.

The difficult problem of providing schools for factory workers' children.

Ms. Tran Ngoc Phuong, Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Vietnam Paiho Co., Ltd., also agreed: "Some workers do not have the means to take care of their children, so they send them back to their grandparents in the countryside. The children lack parental affection, and parents leave the responsibility of caring for them to their grandparents and educating them to the school, leading to many undesirable situations such as children engaging in reckless behavior, dropping out of school, and associating with bad friends…".

Workers find it difficult to find suitable childcare facilities that fit their long overtime work schedules and are reasonably priced (Illustrative image: Ha Di).

However, Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Lien, Head of the Women's Affairs Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Union, said that a more specific survey on this issue is needed.

According to her, Ho Chi Minh City had previously piloted an after-hours childcare program for the children of workers and laborers. However, the percentage of workers who enrolled in childcare was insignificant. Workers usually send their children to facilities near their residences, send them back to their hometowns, and they move around a lot.

Ms. Ngoc Lien stated: "To develop appropriate policies, a lot of data and thorough research are needed, because each region has its own characteristics and needs."

Concluding the conference, Ms. Tran Thu Phuong acknowledged the reality that many workers in export processing zones and industrial parks are forced to send their children back to their hometowns due to difficult living conditions, leading to difficulties in raising young children properly.

Therefore, she suggested that businesses find ways to support the children of their employees and alleviate their difficulties. The trade union should also research ways to provide assistance and care for the children of migrant workers.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/an-sinh/cong-nhan-bo-pho-ve-que-de-duoc-gan-con-20241009033529416.htm