The hardships of worker housing.

MAKING WORKERS DIFFICULT

Ms. Pham Thi Tuong Vi, a worker at Mabuchi Motor Da Nang Co., Ltd., said that she and her colleagues purchased social housing units in the E3 and E4 sections of the Hoa Khanh apartment complex, located in the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park, Lien Chieu District, from Saigon Thuan Phuoc Green Real Estate Company. However, after three years, she has still not received her apartment. "The company has made many promises, but still hasn't delivered the house as per the contract, causing great frustration among workers due to economic difficulties and housing problems. We have to pay both bank loans and rent for our current accommodation," she said. Ms. Vi requested that the leaders of Da Nang City intervene to ensure the progress of social housing in the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park in particular, and other social housing projects in general, to protect workers' rights and contribute to social welfare. The company acknowledged the delay in handing over the houses to workers due to difficulties in construction progress and other procedural obstacles.

The Hòa Khánh apartment blocks are behind schedule, leaving workers who paid for their apartments three years ago still without receiving them.

Meanwhile, those who were allocated housing were not entirely satisfied. Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan An (Fujikura Automotive Vietnam Co., Ltd.) reported that many workers were allocated apartments in the Hoa Cam Industrial Park (Cam Le District), but the apartments were too small, only 16 ^m² , no different from rented rooms, and could not meet the minimum living needs of a family of three. Therefore, Ms. An and other workers petitioned for an increase in room size.

For workers living in rented accommodations, the situation is even more difficult. Worker Ho Phi Binh ( Da Nang Cement Company Limited) stated that while social housing hasn't met demand, over 50% of industrial park workers live in rented rooms with rapidly increasing rents, lacking government regulation, while the rooms are gradually deteriorating and becoming dilapidated. Although the city has a policy of providing loans to landlords for investment and renovation, the loan amounts are low, so very few people access the loan packages. "To ensure adequate housing for workers, there needs to be a policy of subsidizing landlords to reduce rent, or offering incentives for purchasing price-stabilized goods, increasing loan amounts and terms, reducing interest rates, and simplifying procedures to encourage them," Mr. Binh suggested.

I request that all levels regularly survey and promptly and accurately understand the living needs of workers in detail so that policies can be implemented effectively.

Mr. Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Council of Da Nang City.

According to Mr. Le Van Hung (Head of Parts Department, Song Han Automobile Joint Stock Company), the Housing Law's requirement that workers must have tax-free income to purchase social housing has "made things difficult" for them. Currently, with rising prices, the tax-free income (11 million VND/month) already covers two-thirds of the installment payments, leaving insufficient funds. Workers have to work overtime and take on additional jobs, increasing their income to a taxable level, which makes them ineligible. Therefore, the income requirement should be adjusted to reflect reality, and a one-year employment contract should be sufficient to purchase social housing (instead of the current requirement of a full year of temporary residence).

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan, Deputy Director of Ong Bay Construction, Trading and Service Company Limited, suggested expanding the eligibility criteria for social housing to include workers outside industrial zones, who make up a larger proportion, especially those working in the tourism sector, a key economic sector of the city (and not just factory workers).

Apartments in Hoa Khanh building suffered leaks shortly after being put into use.

MORE RESOURCES AND POLICIES ARE NEEDED

The Da Nang City National Assembly Delegation affirmed that the workers' and laborers' concerns were valid, especially regarding regulations on income and temporary residence, which are unreasonable given that the majority of workers are immigrants. Therefore, Da Nang City will propose that the National Assembly consider these issues.

According to the Social Policy Bank branch in Da Nang City, as of the end of April 2023, the unit had disbursed 179.3 billion VND for social housing loans, house construction and renovation within the allocated 250 billion VND package, and 130 billion VND to maintain and expand job creation within the 150 billion VND package allocated for 2023. The maximum loan limit for house construction is 500 million VND (interest rate 4.8%/year). The Da Nang City Federation of Labor also developed a plan for local officials and civil servants to borrow 100 billion VND through the Social Policy Bank, which the Da Nang City People's Council will consider at its mid-year 2023 session.

According to calculations, Da Nang City needs 28,000 new housing units to meet the needs of workers and laborers. Mr. Tran Van Hoang, Deputy Director of the Da Nang City Department of Construction, stated that 117 housing units for workers in the Hoa Cam Industrial Park have been approved, with 44 units currently available for rent out of a total of 285 units. The Da Nang City Federation of Labor has also proposed renovating and expanding the rooms to double their size (32 m2) and installing elevators in all blocks, with an estimated total cost of 15.8 billion VND.

Mr. Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the Da Nang City People's Council, said that the city already has many specific policies and guidelines for workers, but adequate resources are still needed to realize them, with a focus on workers in industrial parks and non-state enterprises. In addition, the city is strengthening efforts to attract investment and develop worker housing, initially expanding the area of ​​worker housing in the Hoa Cam Industrial Park, and proposing to the Government to convert the function of the western dormitory area into social housing to meet part of the demand. "I request that all levels regularly survey and promptly and realistically understand the living needs of workers in detail to make decisions that are effective. The aspirations of workers fall under the authority of the Central Government and the National Assembly. The National Assembly delegation and the Da Nang City People's Council will compile and propose these at the upcoming National Assembly session to develop policies that ensure the needs of workers are met," Mr. Luong Nguyen Minh Triet said.

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