20-year-old girl and a 15m2 rented room
At the beginning of August 2026, we met Le Thi Ngoc Anh (born in 2006, from Thanh Hoa) in a worker's rented room in Thien Loc commune, Hanoi. Having just come to Hanoi for a few weeks, Anh was still bewildered in her first time away from her family to work.
The rented room is about 15m2 wide, priced at 400,000 VND/month, almost nothing but a bed, a suitcase for clothes and a folding chair. These few items also partly show that Anh has just started a self-reliant life. This is the first time the girl from Thanh Hoa has been away from home to work as a worker.
With a basic salary of about 6.3 million VND/month, Anh hopes to work overtime to achieve an income of 10-11 million VND, send 5-6 million VND to her family, and save the rest for the future.
Life in the city is not as Anh once imagined. Sometimes she bursts into tears because she misses home. At the age of 20, for the first time living away from her family, Anh had to take care of herself from food and accommodation, rent to work and gradually learned to be independent.
Even so, in Anh's eyes there is still determination. She tells herself to be more mature, to work hard, because behind her are family and plans for the future.
For workers like Anh, the journey of starting a career can start with a job, a cheap rented room and months of self-reliance. But for them to be able to stay, grow up and stick with for a long time, behind those young people, there needs to be a support - from family, businesses and the Trade Union organization.
Helping young workers far from home stabilize their lives
Talking to reporters, Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Ha - Member of the Standing Committee, Deputy Head of the Labor Relations Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor - said that for many young workers, stepping into factories is also the first time they leave their families to live independently. From rural areas, they come to industrial parks, export processing zones, and large cities with the desire to have stable jobs, accumulate experience and improve their lives.
But behind those trips is a lot of pressure. Workers have to pay for rent, electricity, water, food, transportation and incurred expenses themselves. When income is not really abundant, just one illness, job loss or business reducing orders can disrupt life.
Especially for those who are away from home for the first time, geographical distance also entails emotional distance. In that context, the role of the Trade Union organization becomes even clearer.
Over the past time, housing has been one of the most pressing issues for young workers that has been of concern to the VGCL.
In which, in 2021, the VGCL completed 1 trade union facility in Dong Van II Industrial Park, Ha Nam province (now Ninh Binh province) including a technical infrastructure system, a multi-purpose building and 5 5-story housing blocks with 244 apartments. The Trade Union Project Management Board has organized for workers to rent all 244/244 apartments, reaching a rate of 100%.
Currently, the VGCL is focusing on directing contractors to accelerate progress, quality and safety in construction work at trade union social housing projects in localities such as: Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City... with thousands of apartments.
For young workers far from home, an apartment not only solves the housing needs. It is also a foundation for them to stabilize their lives, reduce cost pressure and have more time for rest, study, and improve their skills. Trade union housing is synchronously planned with kindergartens, schools, health facilities, cultural and sports facilities and essential services, workers will have conditions to build a more stable life instead of just going to work and returning to rented rooms" - Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Ha said.
In addition to caring about housing and jobs for workers, the VGCL, higher-level unions directly at the grassroots level, and grassroots trade unions regularly organize cultural, sports, and legal advice activities... thereby helping people far from home feel that they are not left behind when in a foreign land or homeland. Along with that, many long-term young workers who do not return home for Tet, workers with achievements in creative labor have been organized free buses, trains, and planes to take them home for Tet...
In the coming time, besides paying attention to housing, spiritual life... Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Ha believes that the Trade Union organization needs to continue to accompany young workers from the first steps on the journey to participate in the labor market. In which, vocational training, improving skills and job orientation are contents that need to be emphasized.
Currently, it is not difficult for young workers to find jobs, but the more important issue is how to find quality jobs that are suitable for their abilities and have long-term development opportunities" - Ms. Ha said.
According to Ms. Ha, many young workers aged 18-20 have just left school, without much work experience or life experience. When entering a business, they can meet the immediate job requirements but lack the necessary skills to adapt to the production environment, communicate at the factory, handle situations or build long-term career orientation.
Therefore, grassroots trade unions need to coordinate with businesses to organize vocational training classes, skills training and career guidance for young workers. The training content should not only focus on professional skills but also pay attention to soft skills, teamwork skills, industrial style, labor safety and adaptability to technological changes.
If equipped with more knowledge and skills from the beginning, students will be more confident, have better adaptability and have more career development opportunities" - Ms. Ha analyzed.
According to Ms. Ha, supporting young workers should not just stop at helping them get a job, but needs to aim to help them have a stable career. When they have skills, have the opportunity to improve their skills and see a clear path of development, workers will have more motivation to stick with the business.
In addition, the Trade Union organization can play the role of a bridge between young workers and businesses. The thoughts and difficulties of young workers, if listened to early, will help businesses have appropriate adjustment plans, from working conditions, working hours, spiritual life to welfare programs.
The important thing is that trade union officials must be close to workers, especially young people who are new to work. When we understand what they need and what difficulties they are facing, we can propose correct and accurate support policies" - Ms. Ha emphasized.
To make businesses a second home
Mr. Nguyen Huy Sang - Chairman of the grassroots Trade Union of Yamaha Motor Vietnam Spare Parts Production Co., Ltd. (Thang Long Industrial Park, Hanoi) - said that the enterprise currently has more than 1,420 employees. The average age of employees is about 38 years old, of which young workers from 18-20 years old account for a small number.
According to the Chairman of the grassroots Trade Union of Yamaha Motor Vietnam Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd., besides income and work, the spiritual life of young workers also needs to be concerned, especially when they have little experience and find it difficult to integrate into crowded environments.
In my role as a trade union official, in my opinion, the important thing is to spend more time caring for, encouraging, and listening to the children" - Mr. Sang said.
According to Mr. Sang, concern can start from small things such as chatting, asking about, listening to difficulties. When feeling closeness, young workers will be less lost, feel secure in working and more attached to the business. Minh Phuong wrote
