Workers hope the new year will be less precarious, and income will improve

Struggling in the vortex of costs

After the Binh Ngo Lunar New Year holiday, Mr. Nong Quoc Viet (22 years old, from Tuyen Quang) returned to Hanoi carrying a gift bag from his hometown still smelling of kitchen smoke and also new expectations for a year of work ahead.

The bus leaving the homeland closed the short days of reunion, opening up the familiar cycle of shifts, payrolls and waiting expenses.

Working at an electronics company in Hanoi for 3 months, Mr. Viet has an average income of about 9 million VND/month. The job is mainly office hours, with few overtime, so the salary is considered "moderate".

“The work is not too heavy, I still have time to rest after work. But if I want to be more comfortable, I have to have extra overtime or bonuses,” he shared.

Hoping for more stable income

For married workers, the economic problem is even more stressful. Ms. Tran Thi Lan (38 years old, from Tuyen Quang), a worker at an electronics factory in Thang Long industrial park (Dong Anh, Hanoi) said that her income of about 11 million VND/month includes overtime.

Previously, she used to work at an interior workshop with a slightly higher salary, but the work was heavy and potentially risky, so she decided to change jobs. Currently, the two mothers and daughters rent a room near their workplace, only arranging to return to their hometown a few times a year.

According to Ms. Lan, although the salary in Hanoi is higher than in her hometown, after deducting rent, electricity, water, food and living expenses, the savings are insignificant. "Every month I only save a little to send back to my elderly mother, and the rest is almost all spent on living here," she said.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy (35 years old, from Hoa Binh), working in the clean room department of an electronics equipment company, said that her income ranges from 7-8 million VND/month. After paying 2 million VND for rent and about 2.5 million VND for tuition for her two children, the rest is only enough to cover living expenses. During the recent Tet holiday, she had to borrow more money to have expenses to return to her hometown.

According to Ms. Thuy, each time she returns to her hometown, it is an additional large expense for bus tickets, gifts, food... The total cost can be up to tens of millions of VND.

Spending on everything is increasing, salaries are increasing slowly. We just hope the company has more orders to be able to work overtime, increase income, and reduce uncertainty" - she expressed.

Amidst the "price storm" pressure, many workers still choose to stay in the Capital because the wages in large industrial parks are more stable than in the locality.

For them, the new year is not only a new beginning but also hope for a more favorable production cycle, so that their salaries are more adequate and their lives are less burdened with livelihoods.