At 3 am on the 7th day of Tet (February 23rd), when many families in Luong Tam commune (Can Tho City) were still sound asleep, worker Nguyen Van Ty (born in 1989) quietly started his motorbike, starting a journey of hundreds of kilometers back to Ho Chi Minh City to be on time for the first working day of the year on February 24th.
For more than 10 years, Mr. Ty has been attached to businesses at VSIP Industrial Park 1. On the 27th of Tet, he drove his motorbike through the night to return to his hometown to reunite; after a short holiday, he was busy returning to the cycle of making a living. During the recent Tet holiday, he received his 13th month salary bonus, the Trade Union supported an additional 2 million VND, and guaranteed meal allowances.
Mr. Ty said that with a salary of about 10 million VND/month (not including overtime), after deducting the rent of more than 2.5 million VND and living expenses, he has to calculate every penny carefully. After more than 10 years of sticking to a foreign land, he not only takes care of himself but also with 3 younger siblings who are also workers, he saves every penny. Thanks to that consensus, the brothers have contributed to repairing and rebuilding the house for their parents in the countryside to be more spacious and solid after many years of rain and sun.
I just hope the job is stable and the income is stable so I can be assured to stick with it for a long time," Mr. Ty shared before leaving his hometown.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Nang, from Hong Dan commune (Ca Mau province), also rushed back to Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of the 6th day of Tet. He departed at 6 pm and arrived at the place at about 3-4 am the next morning due to traffic jams after Tet.
Processing beds and tables at a furniture workshop, his income ranges from 15-16 million VND/month. Each month, he spends about 1.4 million VND on rent and nearly 2 million VND on food.
“Because I'm not married yet, I try to save money, send whatever I earn back to my parents in case they get sick. After many years of saving, I also renovated the house in my hometown to be more spacious,” Mr. Nang said.
He added that when he is still healthy, he will continue to stay in Ho Chi Minh City to accumulate more capital, then return to his hometown to open his own wood workshop, taking advantage of the experience he has learned over the years.
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Den in Luong Tam commune (Can Tho City) and her daughter work as workers at Lac Ty II Co., Ltd. (Can Tho City), do not have to work far away, but the rhythm of life also starts very early. Every day, around 3 am, she wakes up to cook rice to take with her to save breakfast costs. At 4 am, mother and daughter drive a motorbike to the main road about 1.5 km from home to catch a worker's bus. At about 7 am, arrive at the company, take advantage of eating and then work from 7:30 am until 4:30 pm to finish work.
After 6 years of working, Ms. Den's current income is about 5.6 million VND/month, not including overtime pay. Her daughter has a salary of about 5.1 million VND/month and has been attached to the job for 4 years.
Thanks to economical spending, Ms. Den's family has accumulated a sum of money, and in early 2025, she repaired the house with a total cost of more than 100 million VND.
Workers' lives are still very hard, but having a stable job to take care of their families and save money to build a house is the greatest joy," Ms. Den confided.
