driving a motorbike taxi on weekends to earn extra income
Mr. Pham Thanh Tinh and his wife are both workers in Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi City). After 10 years of working, the male worker has a basic salary of 6 million VND/month; combined with allowances and overtime, his income is about 9 million VND/month. The total income of both husband and wife is about 16 million VND/month. Meanwhile, renting a room is very expensive.
The above income must be "divided into five and seven". The male worker listed: The rent for housework and electricity and water is about 2.5 million VND/month; the cost of food and living is not less than 5-6 million VND. The money for the two children to go to private kindergartens is 5 million VND/month... which means they can't afford to spend almost any money, spending the whole month.
The cramped small rented room is where the couple, the elderly mother (asked to look after her grandchild) and three children live. Although he really wanted to move to a more spacious place, with his current income, he and his wife could not afford it. The dream of buying a private house is still too far away.
To earn more income, every weekend he turns on the Grab app to attract customers and earn more income, but this extra job only helps him earn a few hundred thousand more. "I hope to get a salary increase and an income increase so that I can take better care of my children," said Mr. Tinh.
Working part-time when the company has few jobs
In recent months, the company where Mr. Pham Duy Dinh works as a worker has had few jobs. He was given 15 days of rotating leave and 15 days of working. His income has decreased, so in his free time, he tries to find a job to earn more income. Knowing the job of driving an excavator, some places call it an extra job. Each time he drives a motorbike, he is paid 400,000 - 500,000 VND.
"However, I can only work part-time when I'm not busy with company work; moreover, I don't always have a job, so I can only drive 3-4 times a month, earning an additional 1.5-2 million VND" - Mr. Dinh said.
This job helps him have more money to raise his children and study. His whole family, including a wife and 2 children, is currently renting a room in Nhue village, Thien Loc commune (Hanoi city). The financial pressure to send his children to school caused him to often worry.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the income is enough to live on, causing couples to worry about their financial capacity. While the cost of raising children, especially the cost of education and health care, is increasingly expensive, they are delaying childbirth to ensure the quality of life for themselves and their families.
Regarding education costs, more than 53.3% of workers said that their salaries only partially meet (over 50%) of their children's education needs. Thus, for the majority of workers, the cost of education is a financial burden and they have to depend on support sources such as loans, savings or from their families to cover enough. In particular, 6.9% of workers confirmed that their salaries do not meet the demand for child education.
