In previous years, it was easy to hear delighted laughs of children and joyful chats of adults in boarding houses for workers at weekends while they were preparing a hefty meal full of meat to enjoy together. That warm scene can hardly be seen now as the end of the year is approaching, but laborers are still struggling for a living. Some even comment that this Tet holiday will be a poor one.
Nguyen Thuy Trang, an employee of a factory sited in Linh Trung 1 Export Processing Zone, expressed her worry, seeing that many other workers have been laid off because their plants could not receive orders. She admitted that the number of orders her company is processing this year is lower, and thus there is no overtime money for the upcoming Tet holiday. She does not even think about Tet bonus like previous years.
No such bonuses mean no more new clothes for families or new toys for children, which should be a tradition at the beginning of a new Lunar year.
32-year-old Trinh Thuy Hien, an officer in District 8, complained that one million VND for shopping now seems insufficient to buy food as wished. Once the prices of these essential commodities have gone up, it is impossible for them to decrease. Therefore, she has to plan her shopping more carefully, and some extra-curricular learning activities of her children have to be canceled as well.
Vice Chairman of HCMC Labor Confederation Pham Chi Tam said that due to the tense global situation at present and inflation, the prices of fuel and certain commodities have risen. Meanwhile, the general goods demand in the world has dropped, and thus a decrease in the quantity of orders, especially in the fields of wood processing, leather and footwear, textile and garment. As a result, several companies have to either lay off laborers or reduce the working time of their employees.
155 businesses in HCMC have terminate the job of over 50,000 workers. Some companies plan not to deliver Tet bonuses or the 13th month salary to their employees.
Understanding the concern of laborers at present, in November 2022, the Standing Committee of HCMC Party Committee held a meeting to find feasible solutions, said Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Phan Van Mai.
He reported that Tet holiday is the time that the service sector attracts more laborers. Meanwhile, the city has introduced policies to care for the unemployed, be it temporarily or permanently. It has allocated VND150 billion (US$6.3 million) to support vulnerable workers in the upcoming time.
In the 8th session of the 10th tenure of HCMC People's Council, Vice Chairwoman of HCMC People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang predicted that in 2023, the city will gain certain opportunities, yet will also face tougher challenges. Therefore, it aims at stabilizing its manufacturing activities and stopping economic recession, delivering support for businesses to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, giving more job openings, maintaining its growth, and ensuring social security.
Particularly, HCMC People’s Committee proposed next year’s theme as ‘Increasing the Effectiveness of Public Services, Administrative Reform, Investment Environment for Economic Development and Social Security Maintenance’. Thanks to suitable policies and timely support from the authorities, citizens and businesses are able to make good use of their innovation and energy for a sustainable growth of the city, which is the yearning hope of the whole community.
