The assembly machines kept roaring until late at night, while Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh (28 years old, from Thanh Hoa) was still attentive to each snail.
Ms. Hanh has been a worker in Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi) for nearly 8 years. For her, the months near Tet are always the busiest.
According to Ms. Hanh, an income of more than 10 million VND per month is currently the goal that many workers desire. Because if they do not work overtime, they can only "wait" for 7-8 million VND/month as usual.
Every year, the end of the year witnesses increased production demand to meet orders before Tet Nguyen Dan and year-end festivals. Businesses often ask us to extend working hours in the evening, even work overtime on Sundays to meet delivery schedules. Sometimes feeling tired, but this choice brings clear benefits in terms of income" - Ms. Hanh said.
Ms. Hanh lives far from home, renting a room near an industrial park. Normally, a female worker only receives about more than 8 million VND a month. After deducting rent, food, and travel expenses, there is no surplus to send money back to her parents in the countryside.
Working overtime a lot, even if tired, income will improve, about 10-12 million VND per month with many overtime hours" - she recounted. This is also the reason why she and many other colleagues agreed to stay at the workshop to work overtime.
Not only Ms. Hanh, Ms. Tran Thi Thuong - a worker at an electronic component factory - said that from last month, the company required employees to increase by at least 1 hour in the evening each day and some days to work overtime on weekends to complete export orders.
Ms. Thuong said that if there are no overtime, the salary is only enough for basic expenses. But now with full overtime, the monthly income can be up to 12 million VND. "Just enough to send home to cover my children's schooling, and there is also an amount to save for Tet" - she said.
However, prolonged overtime also poses many challenges for workers in the factory. With a tight work schedule, most workers like Ms. Thuong do not have much time for family or rest.
She recounted: "Every night it's 8-9 pm to finish the shift, on night shifts it's until 6 am. When I get back to renting a room, I still have to eat and clean up. Many times I miss home, miss my children, but I still have to try.
This is not only happening in Hanoi but also a big picture of the labor market every year-end. Recent market reports show that the demand for general labor in the Northern region, especially Hanoi, is increasing, especially in the manufacturing, processing and logistics industries, in order to meet large orders before Tet.
Besides the busy pace of life, the psychology of looking forward to Tet bonuses is also a motivation for workers to work overtime. Many companies commit to a bonus equal to one month's salary, helping workers have more financial resources to celebrate Tet more fully after a year of hard work.
For Ms. Hanh and many colleagues, these days are like a sprint: "Hard work is hard work, but everyone hopes to have a little more money this Tet to take care of their family, buy Tet gifts for their children, pay off debts... that is our year-end joy.
