On the morning of January 20, at Saigon Station, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation held a farewell ceremony for workers working in Ho Chi Minh City and their relatives returning home to celebrate Tet on the "Union Trains - Spring 2025" organized by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.
Mr. Tran Doan Trung - Permanent Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation - said that the program "Union Train - Spring 2025" brought 175 union members, workers and 320 relatives working in Ho Chi Minh City back to their hometowns to celebrate Tet, traveling from the South to the Northern provinces on trains from January 18 to 28 and from the North to the South from February 1 to 9, 2025.
"Today's train is not only a means of transport, but also a journey filled with the care, sharing, and affection of the trade union organization, bringing children far from home to reunite with their loved ones, welcoming good luck on the threshold of the new year," said Mr. Tran Doan Trung.
Receiving a free train ticket from the union, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho (from Nghe An) could not hide her emotions.
Ms. Tho said that she has been working in Ho Chi Minh City since 2013, but until now she has not been able to return home to celebrate Tet with her relatives.
"My family and I are really happy, my children are returning home for the first time to celebrate Tet. Last night we could hardly sleep, anxiously waiting until morning to go to the station and board the train to return home," Tho confided.
Ms. Tho said that she and her husband are both workers, with a total monthly income of only about 20 million VND. After paying for rent, tuition for 3 children and living expenses for a family of 5, there is almost "nothing left". That is also the reason why in the past 12 years she has not been able to return home to celebrate Tet.
"In previous years, every time Tet came, when we called home, my husband and I cried, as did both families' parents, but our economic conditions did not allow it, so we had to accept it and tell each other that we would work hard next year to have money to go home for Tet.
However, year after year, the journey home for Tet is getting further and further. Luckily this year, the union sponsored round-trip train tickets for the whole family, so we were able to return home," Ms. Tho said emotionally.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia's family (from Quang Binh) has not been able to celebrate Tet with their relatives for 3 years.
"Before that, I really didn't think my family would be able to go home for Tet this year. Luckily, we received a free ticket and we were really happy. The day we received the news, we were overwhelmed with joy and eagerly waited for this day to get on the train to go home," Nghia shared.
