Workers stay in Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate Tet: "This year, having enough to eat is enough to be happy"

At noon on December 26, after work, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong (44 years old, from Binh Dinh) hurriedly stopped by the market to buy a bunch of vegetables to bring back to his rented room in an alley on Pham Dang Giang Street, Binh Hung Hoa Ward (Binh Tan District) so his wife could prepare lunch for their two children.

The rented room, less than 15 square meters, was sweltering hot. Mr. Cong's wife was hurriedly cooking a simple lunch when the clock passed 12 o'clock. "This year, both of our jobs are difficult. We also want to take our two children back to their hometown to celebrate Tet with their grandparents, but we don't have the means," the man said.

"The whole family goes back to the countryside, money is not enough"

Mr. Cong's family is one of thousands of other worker families in Ho Chi Minh City who chose to stay in the city over Tet because they could not afford to return to their hometowns, after a year of economic recession.

Sitting helping his wife pick vegetables, Mr. Cong said that the couple had been married for nearly 10 years and had chosen Ho Chi Minh City as their place to make a living. He worked for a gas company and his wife worked as a garment worker.

Mr. Cong sits picking vegetables with his youngest son in a rented room on Pham Dang Giang Street (Photo: An Huy).

Last year was a really difficult time for his family. His wife's company had to cut orders, in addition to working 8 hours a day without overtime, his wife also had to take Saturday and Sunday off. His salary was only 7 million VND. The couple's monthly income was only 12 million VND.

Meanwhile, each month's rent costs 3 million VND, the two children's schooling costs 5 million VND, and the family's frugal food budget is also not less than 3 million VND.

"11 million VND is the fixed amount my family has to spend every month. My husband and I work hard, and we spend all our monthly salary. It's been a long time since my family went out to eat and had a proper meal," Cong said.

The man said that in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple's work was favorable because they could work overtime and had Tet bonuses. Therefore, at the end of the year, the family was always eager to go home to celebrate Tet with their parents and grandparents.

This year, with no money left to spend, his family had to stay in Ho Chi Minh City waiting for work. "My parents are old, I also want to go back to my hometown to visit them, but I can't bear to go back alone, leaving my wife and children in the city, and if the whole family goes back together, the money won't be enough," the father of two shared.

Mr. Cong calculated that if he went back to his hometown, the family of four would have to spend at least 7 million VND on round-trip bus tickets. Money for both parents' and grandparents' gifts, Tet gifts for his wife and children, lucky money and other expenses, would probably cost 30 million VND.

"Only workers can truly understand and feel the economic difficulties in the current period," said Mr. Cong.

"Glad to have a job"

Deep in alley 22 Tan Thoi Nhat 8, Tan Thoi Nhat ward (district 12) is a 20m2 rented room of 7 family members of Mr. Vo Van Nguyen (64 years old, from An Giang ). He and his wife currently live with their two daughters, two sons-in-law and grandchildren.

Mr. Nguyen’s extended family did not return home for Tet this year because of the hardships of work throughout the year. He works as a construction worker but has a heart condition and has been unemployed for several months. Meanwhile, his wife is also sick and has to stay home. The family’s finances depend on their two daughters and their husbands.

Mr. Nguyen slices onions for his daughter to prepare fish sauce and make Tet dishes in the rented room (Photo: An Huy).

This year the company has no orders, his daughter and her husband are working at a moderate pace, without overtime, so their income is just enough to cover expenses. It has been 4 years since his family has returned home for Tet, even though their home is only 250km from Ho Chi Minh City.

His family celebrated Tet like every other day, living normally. He and his wife did not buy any new clothes.

"This year, so many workers lost their jobs, so many people have returned home. I'm glad that my children still have jobs. My family has enough to eat and is healthy, so where is the money to return home for Tet?", Mr. Nguyen said.

30m away is the rented room of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tan and his wife Cao Thi Muoi (both 34 years old, from An Giang). The couple is living with their 3-year-old son. This is the second Tet away from home for the small family.

Mr. Tan works as a porter and his wife is a garment worker. They earn about 11 million VND per month, just enough to get by.

Mr. Tan said that this year the company is having difficulties, so the jobs of both of them are also unstable. Like his porter job, he only works when the company has goods, otherwise he has to stay home.

A few years ago, his wife often worked overtime until late at night, earning nearly 10 million VND per month. This year, she has worked overtime less than 10 times, so her basic salary is only over 5 million VND.

"My family spends all of our monthly salary. The company is having a hard time this year and has cut bonuses, so my husband and I have to stay in the city to celebrate Tet and wait until the new year to start again," said Mr. Tan.

Ms. Muoi (Mr. Tan's wife) said that she has not had the opportunity to visit her hometown for two Tet holidays (Photo: An Huy).

According to Mr. Tan, during the days before Tet, his parents in the countryside often called to say they missed their grandchildren and urged their children to come home. However, the couple had to give up because they did not have the conditions to visit their hometown.

"I hope that next year our jobs will be more stable so we can take our grandchild to visit his grandparents," said Mr. Tan.

Recently, Mr. Phung Thai Quang, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, said that for Tet 2024, the city will organize care for 48,402 cases of union members and workers at enterprises that have had their orders cut and are unable to return home for Tet; exemplary workers and civil servants who have completed their production and business tasks well and actively participated in union activities...

It is estimated that the cost of taking care of workers on this occasion is about 33 billion VND (financial source of Ho Chi Minh City Trade Union, not including grassroots source).

At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation approved support for 7,903 cases of union members and employees whose working hours were reduced or whose labor contracts were terminated due to businesses cutting or reducing orders, with a total amount of more than VND11 billion.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/an-sinh/cong-nhan-o-lai-tphcm-don-tet-nam-nay-vua-du-an-la-mung-roi-20240128232827235.htm