The lychee season is bustling with activity.

Every lychee season, the atmosphere of harvesting, purchasing, and transporting becomes bustling throughout the countryside, providing many seasonal workers with additional jobs and a significant source of income.

Fabric weighing stations attract many hired laborers. Photo: THANH CHUNG.

Many jobs

These days, from early morning, the roads leading to the lychee-growing area of ​​Ha Dong commune ( Hai Phong ) are bustling with container trucks, lorries, and motorbikes carrying goods in and out.

At the collection points, dozens of workers are constantly loading baskets of bright red lychees onto trucks for transportation and sale throughout the day. To ensure freshness, farmers usually harvest lychees from night until around 6 a.m. and then quickly transport them to weighing stations.

From pruning and picking lychees to sorting, packing, loading, and freezing for preservation, every step requires a large workforce. The bustling atmosphere throughout the harvest season not only makes the lychee growing region more vibrant but also provides a significant source of income for many local workers and those from distant provinces who come to work.

Pham Van Duy, originally from Hung Yen province, works as a hired hand at a lychee weighing station in Ha Dong commune. He said that for many years he has been involved in seasonal work at agricultural product purchasing points. After the lychee season, there's the longan, melon, or other agricultural product seasons. The work is hard, requiring him to stay up late and wake up early, but the income is more stable than working independently in his hometown. "Currently, I earn about 1 million VND per day. However, the lychee season is short, and this year the yield is low, so I'll probably only work for about a month before moving on to another place," Duy shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thao from Ha Tay commune said that for many years he has been involved in the job of picking lychees for hire in the lychee-growing areas in the region. Every harvest season, he follows the orchard owners to pick lychees from early morning until late evening.

“The lychee harvest season brings a lot of work. In previous years, the daily wage was around 300,000 VND, but this year it has increased to about 400,000 VND per day. This job requires good health and tree-climbing skills,” Thao said.

Many local laborers earn a decent income from working as hired hands during the lychee season.

Having worked as a textile loader for over 10 years, Nguyen Van Duoc, a freelance worker in Thanh Ha commune, says that the lychee season is the busiest time of the year. The work starts at 4-5 pm and usually lasts until late at night.

Many women also find additional work in trimming, sorting, and packaging lychees. At Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company (Thanh Ha commune), dozens of workers sit in rows, their hands nimbly cutting leaves and selecting beautiful fruits for export. Ms. Quach Thi Binh from Hao Xa 3 village, Thanh Ha commune, said she earns about 400,000 dong per day.

At processing sites preparing for export, the process of freezing lychees for preservation is carried out urgently. Ice blocks are crushed into smaller pieces and placed into styrofoam containers to maintain the freshness of the lychees during long-distance transportation. This is quite strenuous work, as workers have to work continuously in a cold, humid environment.

Mr. Le Van Binh, the owner of a lychee weighing station in Ha Dong commune, said he employs more than 20 people, mostly local laborers. "During the peak season, a huge amount of lychees are gathered, so all stages must operate continuously. From picking the lychees and loading them to packaging, everyone is very important," Mr. Binh said.

Keep the fabric area calm.

The Ha Dong commune police organized a commitment signing ceremony for owners of weighing stations to ensure security, traffic safety, and workplace safety for their employees.

Ensuring security and order during the lychee season is also a top priority for the local authorities. Due to the significant increase in the number of temporary workers, the police force regularly monitors and assesses the situation at weighing stations and rented accommodations.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Huu Binh, Head of the Ha Dong Commune Police, said that from the beginning of the case, the unit coordinated with the owners of weighing stations to disseminate information and require strict compliance with temporary residence declaration for migrant workers from other provinces.

“During the lychee season, the number of people from other areas coming to work increases significantly, so we strengthen inspections and residency management to promptly grasp the situation. The commune police regularly go to weighing stations and areas with a high concentration of laborers to disseminate information on preventing theft, disturbances, ensuring traffic safety and public order,” Lieutenant Colonel Binh said.

In addition to monitoring residency, the police also coordinate with and remind weigh station owners to arrange safe accommodation and meals for workers, ensuring fire safety and maintaining environmental hygiene. Many large weigh stations have proactively installed security cameras and arranged parking areas and temporary rest areas for workers.

The commune police organized the signing of commitments with the owners of fixed collection points and 12 mobile collection vehicles, requiring them to strictly comply with regulations on vehicle parking, not to stockpile goods in a way that obstructs traffic, and to maintain environmental hygiene. Authorities increased patrols and traffic management on roads with high volumes of lychee transport vehicles, promptly reminding and handling violations, contributing to ensuring smooth traffic flow during the lychee harvest season.

MINH NGUYEN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/ron-rang-mua-vai-chin-543474.html