The life of a worker in a rented room.

After a long day at work, workers from industrial zones and companies crowd back to their rented rooms. All their daily activities, from eating to sleeping, are confined to these cramped rooms.

Around 5 PM, the atmosphere in a row of rented rooms in Rach Gia ward began to liven up. The small alley, usually quiet during the day, was now crowded with motorbikes parked side-by-side. The sounds of motorbikes, calls, and children echoed from the closely packed rooms. In her approximately 20-square- ^meter room, Ms. Ho Thi Phuong, a worker at Thai Binh Kien Giang Joint Stock Company, hurriedly prepared dinner upon her arrival. She has been a factory worker for nine years, and for nine years she has lived in rented accommodation. Every day, she leaves her room early, starting her shift at 7:30 AM and finishing at 5 PM. On days with overtime, Ms. Phuong doesn't return to her room until 8 PM. “When I get back to my room, all I want to do is rest. But there's cooking, and my child, so I have to force myself to get up and take care of things. I leave early in the morning and come home late in the evening, so I have little time to take care of my family. In the evening, I try to help my child with their homework,” Ms. Phuong said.

Ms. Ho Thi Phuong teaches her child in her rented room. Photo: Bao Tran

Ms. Phuong's husband works as a security guard at a timber company; the job isn't physically demanding but involves long shifts. They have a daughter in the third grade. Every morning, she takes her daughter to school and then rushes to her shift. In the afternoon, if she doesn't work overtime, she tries to pick her daughter up. On days when she works late, she relies on relatives to help with picking up and dropping off her daughter. The couple's average income is about 15 million VND per month. Ms. Phuong calculates that rent is 800,000 VND, electricity and water bills are over 800,000 VND because they use air conditioning, then there's food, tuition for her daughter, car installments, etc. Without illness or family gatherings, she has about 4 million VND left over each month.

Sitting beside her, Mrs. Phuong's husband added, "We say we have some extra, but after saving for a few months, we always have something we need, so we don't have much left. Therefore, my wife and I haven't dared to think about building or buying a house. Sometimes, seeing my wife and children living like this breaks my heart, and I tell myself to work even harder."

Ms. Trinh Kim Chi, originally from An Minh commune, rents a room for 600,000 VND/month in Thanh Loc commune. This is the third room she has moved to since working in the Thanh Loc industrial zone. Nearly five years as a factory worker, including overtime, Ms. Kim Chi earns an average of over 7 million VND per month. To save money, she chooses to share a room with a colleague, splitting the expenses to ensure long-term stability. Leaning against the faded wall, Ms. Chi said: “This place is the best. It’s close to work and safe. The landlord is also very kind to the workers; sometimes when I’m short on money, I ask to pay later, and they allow it.”

The room is just over 10 square ^meters , and all the activities of two people have to be crammed into this narrow space. Every small corner is utilized; a thin mattress is placed in the corner, belongings are hung all over the walls, a mini gas stove and a small rice cooker are tucked to one side, and a shoe rack is placed right next to the walkway. In the middle of the room, a fan spins at full power but still can't dispel the stifling heat that lingers on the four walls after a whole day of scorching sun. On days when she doesn't work overtime, Ms. Chi cooks, cleans, eats quickly, and then lies down to rest. "Some days, when it's so hot, after work I come home, shower, then drive around, stop somewhere to eat to escape the stuffiness before going back to sleep. Even when I work overtime, I only have a little money left over, so I don't dare think about finding a more spacious room," Ms. Chi shared.

Mr. Tran Minh Trong, the owner of the boarding house where Ms. Chi lives, said that his complex has 10 rooms. The first room is larger and costs 1.2 million VND/month, while the others cost 600,000 VND/month, not including electricity and water. Each room is only a ^little over 10 square meters. Most tenants are workers in garment, shoe, and seafood processing factories, earning around 5-8 million VND/month. After deducting living expenses, the remaining amount is negligible, and many still have to save money to send back home. "I know it's cramped and run-down, but they need to save. I would like to renovate it to make it more decent, but the cost is high. They can't afford to raise the price, so I just keep it affordable for them to stay long-term," Mr. Trong shared.

As night fell, the row of rented rooms gradually became quiet. That's the life of a worker: sleepless nights filled with worry, meals barely satisfying before the next month's expenses are covered; few have any money left over.

BAO TRAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/doi-cong-nhan-trong-khu-nha-tro-a483225.html