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Pham Thi Tem, a worker from Ca Mau Province, worries because she loses her job before the Tet holiday. (Photo: SGGP |
Unexpected reversal
After the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, entering 2022, Pham Thi Tem, a worker from Ca Mau, and thousands of workers of Vietnam Samho Company in Cu Chi District in HCMC had to work hurriedly. Orders piled up, and at the beginning of the year, enterprises also spent a lot of money on recruiting 1,500 more workers. At that time, the production atmosphere was extremely urgent with lots of work. However, the situation completely reversed in the fourth quarter. Orders unexpectedly dropped in October, and at the beginning of November, the company suddenly announced to lay off more than 1,400 employees, including Tem, who has worked for the company for nearly ten years. “In the past, my average salary was about VND8 million per month. I spent money thriftily and could save a small sum of money to send back to my hometown for my children. I planned to work overtime at the end of the year to have more money to return to my hometown, but now I have lost my job when Tet is approaching. All my plans are ruined. I am totally shocked,” said Pham Thi Tem. For over the past month, she has had to do various part-time jobs, from washing dishes to picking chili peppers, to make a living.
Also facing unemployment near the New Year, after Sun Kyoung Vietnam Garment Company in District 12 in HCMC was dissolved, Giang Kim Chau, a worker from Tra Vinh, has had to do a part-time job of trimming leaves for a flower garden in District 12 with a wage of VND25,000 per hour. In the evening, she cuts loose thread for a sewing factory to earn extra income. "Thinking about Tet, I feel upset. It is also about going home to celebrate the Tet holiday, but it is so shameful," Chau said bitterly.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the number of newly-registered and reopened enterprises nationwide increased by 33.2 percent, nearly 1.5 times higher than that of enterprises withdrawing from the market; the total number of registered employees of enterprises increased by 15.9 percent. Compared to the same period in 2021, the average income of laborers in the third quarter of 2022 surged by 30.1 percent, equivalent to an increase of VND1.6 million. “However, from September to now, besides enterprises that continue to produce and do business well and recruit more workers, many enterprises in industries and localities, especially the textile and garment, leather and footwear, wood processing, and electronics industries, have faced difficulties as orders have been cut, leading to hundreds of thousands of workers suffering job loss and job cut," Vice Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu said. “It is a big issue and is of great concern because it seriously affects the employment, income, and life of part of laborers and their families.”
Withstanding together
At the end of the year, it is quite deserted at Hoa Phat Steel Pipe Factory in Lien Chieu District in Da Nang City, with only ten workers working in moderation. Mr. Bui Tan Huu, Director of Hoa Phat Steel Pipe Factory, said that raw materials imported from Europe faced many difficulties due to the influence of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Previously, it took about 7-8 weeks for imported raw materials to arrive in Vietnam, but now it takes 5-6 months. Not only that, the cost has increased by 20-30 percent, putting pressure on the company. In the last three months of the year, the factory has had to reduce its capacity by 60 percent. According to Mr. Bui Tan Huu, the biggest pressure on the factory now is to maintain the work of its employees for them to stick with the enterprise because if workers have no jobs and no income, they will leave the enterprise. Later, the company will have to recruit new workers and pay for training costs. Therefore, the factory arranges for 520 workers to work perfunctorily, and 50 percent of workers alternately take leave in a week.
Due to the lack of orders for many months, SSLV Da Nang Company in Da Nang City, from a peak of 1,200 workers, no longer has enough jobs for 500 employees and has to stop operation. Huynh Xuan Phuong, 46, living in Lien Chieu District, the company’s worker, said that the situation changed quickly. Previously, she received VND1.4 million in bonus every month. Two months ago, the bonus dropped to only VND200,000 per month, and Phuong's total income was only VND5 million per month. Employees were very understanding of the situation of the company, and even though the salary was low, they still tried to stay. Unexpectedly, the company dissolves. Phuong looked for jobs everywhere, but she was rejected because most companies only accept people under 35 years old. She strives to stay for a few days to get her insurance book and then will return to her hometown.
Back to hometown
In Binh Duong and Dong Nai, many workers have been planning to return to their hometowns for the Tet holiday early. Many workers said that they called it a Tet holiday break to make it easier to hear. Actually, they lost their jobs or were reduced jobs, leading to low wages, so they are no longer able to stay in urban areas.
We visited a boarding house with nearly 30 rooms in Binh Hoa Ward in Thuan An City of Binh Duong Province and found more than ten empty rooms because workers had returned their rooms to the landlord since November to go back to their hometowns due to unstable jobs. As for those who still stay, they are also suffering. Tang Thi Truc Ly, 27, a worker of Premier Global Vietnam Company, said that the company had lacked orders since July 2022, so the job was unstable. Her monthly income is just over VND5 million, reducing by nearly half. With this level of income, it is really difficult to stay in urban areas.
In a boarding house with more than 30 rooms on Bui Van Hoa Street in Long Binh Ward in Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province, it was only 9 a.m., but Pham Thi Tuyet Lan, 30, living in Bien Hoa City, a worker of Chang Shin Vietnam Company in Vinh Cuu District, had already left the factory to return to the boarding house because it was out of work. Lan said her salary was only VND5 million per month in the past three months, decreasing by half. "My husband has quit his job as a factory worker and switched to other jobs to pay for accommodation and meals and save money to send back to our hometown to take care of our children," Lan confided and said if this situation continued to prolong, they would return to their hometown to find work.
