According to the reporter, these days, the workers' housing area in Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi City) is quite quiet. Most of the workers have taken advantage of the 4-day holiday to return to their hometowns and travel. Others choose to stay in Hanoi during this time to save costs.
On the morning of September 1, Ms. Le Thi Nga (a worker at Yamaha Motor Vietnam Spare Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) and her son were walking around the CT1A building (Kim Chung workers' housing area, Kim Chung commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi). Ms. Nga said that although they had 4 days off this year, she and her husband decided to stay in Hanoi to save money.
"My husband and I are both from Thanh Hoa and Tuyen Quang, so going back to our hometowns would be very expensive. During this holiday, my husband, I, and our two children are just hanging around at home, with no plans to go anywhere," said Ms. Nga.
Similarly, Mr. Le Van Sy (a worker at Thang Long Industrial Park) also decided to stay in the city during the holiday. "It is difficult to book a car to go back to my hometown during the holiday, and it is also crowded and congested, so I decided to stay. Staying home for the holiday will give me more time to rest, restore my labor, and save money," said Mr. Sy.
During the 4-day holiday, Mr. Sy spent 3 days resting at his rented room, and 1 day playing and eating with friends. Mr. Sy said he will return home to visit his family at the end of this month.
Ms. Nguyen Lan Nhi (from Ha Giang) who is working at Bac Thang Long Industrial Park said that this year the company created conditions for employees to have 4 days off for the holiday. However, her family of 4 still decided to stay in the rented room to celebrate the holiday.
"Our income is still limited, and going back to our hometown is far away, and going out these days is expensive, so my family chooses to stay at home," said Lan Nhi.
Meanwhile, Ms. Luu Thi Thanh Thuy (worker at Thang Long Industrial Park) decided to take her daughter on a trip to Sam Son (Thanh Hoa) during the holiday. Ms. Thuy said she wanted to take advantage of this time to let her child have fun before starting the new school year.
"Because we have a 4-day holiday, some close workers organized a trip. This is an opportunity for members to bond more and also helps the children have fun before the school year," said Ms. Thuy.
According to Ms. Thuy, in recent years, her company has given bonuses to workers on the occasion of September 2nd. "This year, my company gave a bonus of 200,000 VND, the Union gave a bonus of 200,000 VND to workers. Although the bonus is not too big, it is a gift of encouragement and motivation for workers far from home like us," Ms. Thuy said.
According to the Department of Labor Safety (Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs), this year's National Day holiday schedule on September 2nd, officials, civil servants, public employees and workers will have 4 consecutive days off from Saturday (August 31st) to Tuesday (September 3rd).
