Difficulties on all sides
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao (from Thach Thanh district) said that for many years, she had to leave her hometown to go to the city to work at Hoang Long Industrial Park, Thanh Hoa city.
“Away from home, everything is lacking, from food, sleep to clean water. Because of the struggle to make a living, we have to accept it...” - Ms. Thao said.
According to Ms. Thao, due to the low salary of workers, not only she but also many others have to tighten their spending, saving little by little to send back to their families to cover their living expenses. For that reason, most workers like her only dare to buy clean water bottles to cook rice and soup. The rest of the water for daily activities , bathing and washing must be used from the well water source that the landlord brings to the rooms.
Like Ms. Thao, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (a worker at Hoang Long Industrial Park) shared that in the boarding houses around the industrial park, almost all workers have to use well water for bathing, washing, and daily activities. The bottles of clean water that are bought are used for drinking and cooking. "Many days, to save money on buying water, we even bring bottles into the company to get clean water for use, saving money on buying it," Ms. Hoa said.
According to Ms. Hoa, due to the lack of clean water in the boarding house, workers have to use well water for bathing and washing, while this water source often has a fishy smell. Even on days of heavy rain, the sewers around the boarding house are flooded, making the well water polluted, giving off a fishy smell and making it unusable.
“During long rainy days when there was a lack of clean water, we bought water in jugs and shared it among ourselves. On sunny days when there was a power outage and we couldn’t pump water to the tanks, it was difficult to bathe or wash. In general, the life of workers like us in rented accommodation was extremely difficult,” said Ms. Hoa.
I wish there was clean water.
According to many workers renting accommodation around Hoang Long Industrial Park, most of them want to have access, incentives or support to access clean water, so that they can be more comfortable in their needs for daily life, bathing and cooking.
“We hope that the authorities will pay more attention to workers who are far from home and have to rent accommodation in extremely difficult conditions. Especially the issue of clean water, because it is directly related to our daily lives. In addition, a guaranteed water source will also help us feel more secure when using it and avoid possible health risks,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa.
Talking to Lao Dong, Mr. Nguyen Dang Tu - Head of Phuong Dinh 2 residential group, Tao Xuyen ward, Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province said that in the area, there are quite a few workers renting rooms to work in the industrial park. Most of the workers renting rooms here use clean water bottles for cooking. For daily life and bathing, they use well water.
“Each bottle of clean water costs more than 12,000 VND. With a small salary, workers can hardly afford to buy clean water for both cooking and daily use. Therefore, they have to use well water ,” said Mr. Tu.
According to Mr. Tu, if in the future there is any policy or support regime for clean water for workers renting accommodation, that would be great. Because, in addition to reducing monthly costs and reducing workers' worries, it also helps workers access a safe water source and feel secure in using it.
