No overtime is very "hard to live
Mr. Nguyen Minh Quang, 36 years old, from Dong Anh (Hanoi), is currently working as a worker at a motorcycle parts processing company. Previously, Mr. Quang had 4 years of experience working at FCC Vietnam Company - specializing in manufacturing motorcycle components. After many job changes, for about 6 months now, he has been attached to his current job.
Every day, Mr. Quang works from 6 am to 6 pm. The basic salary is about 7 million VND/month, if he works overtime for enough 40 hours, his income can increase by more than 8 million VND. "Without overtime, it is difficult to live in Hanoi," Mr. Quang affirmed.
According to Mr. Quang, he has saved living expenses to a minimum level, but life is still struggling. "I rent a 10m2 room, rent and electricity and water are about 700,000 VND/month. The room is small and narrow, there is no private toilet, living utensils have to be packed tightly. After deducting food, gasoline and other living expenses, the accumulated amount is almost negligible. Just stay temporarily, as long as it's cheap," Mr. Quang said sadly.
The story of "job hopping" is also not unfamiliar. Mr. Quang said that moving from one company to another is mainly because the salary and regime are unstable; even he and his friends can job hopping if the new place's income is a few hundred thousand VND/month higher.
Similarly, Mr. Tu Trung Vu (26 years old, from Phu Tho) is currently working as a worker at a garment factory in Bac Thang Long industrial park. Previously, Mr. Vu used to work at an electronics company in Bac Ninh, but quit after nearly 2 years due to overtime pressure and a stressful working environment.
Currently, Mr. Vu's income is about 7 million VND/month, if he works overtime, he can reach about 9 million VND/month. "However, the cost of renting a room near the industrial park is nearly 1.5 million VND/month, not including electricity, water, food and personal expenses. If you work a lot, it's better, if you have little work, you have to borrow money," Mr. Vu said.
Because he is not married, this young worker still tries to stick with it, but Mr. Vu admits that if he has a family, life will be "very stressful". Many of his colleagues have to send their children back to their hometown because they do not have enough conditions to raise their children in the city. "Being away from their children and spending money on travel, but there is no other way," Mr. Vu said.
Not thinking about the future
At 3 pm, when we knocked on the door of a room in a damp rented house, the entrance was deep enough for only 1 motorbike in Bau village, Thien Loc commune (Hanoi), it took several minutes for a sleepy sound in the room to respond.
Mr. Truong Quang Huy (born in 1993, from Truong Thi ward, Thanh Hoa) opened the door, his eyes red with sleep deprivation. Mr. Huy rented a room, lived with his wife (both husband and wife are currently workers at Canon Vietnam Co., Ltd.) and a 1-year-old son.
According to Mr. Huy, his wife and he are the same age, working in the same assembly department at Canon Company. Total income is about 20 million VND/month, of which sending children and renting a room accounts for 1/4 of the income.
Spending money on food, diapers for children, living expenses... we have to be very thrifty to save a few million VND/month. If our child is sick, we even spend sparingly on savings," Mr. Huy said.
The closed room of about 15m2 that Mr. Huy and his wife rented in Bau village has almost no openings. In the room, clothes, blankets, mattresses, cabinets... are scattered. The mezzanine of about 6m2, Mr. Huy is stacking things. "Now it's even more airy because my grandmother returned to her hometown when my child went to school," Mr. Huy said.
While talking to reporters, Mr. Huy also took the opportunity to wash dishes to be on time for the evening shift, also to make it easier for his wife to pick up the children after work. Mr. Huy's wife works in administration during the day, and he works in the night shift, so the living hours are "out of sync", sometimes when the father goes to work, the child has not returned home, and when the father comes home after work, the child has already gone to school.
Asked about future plans, about the intention to save money to do another job, Mr. Huy sighed: "I haven't thought about it yet!
