Workers living in rented houses still face many difficulties in life
Regarding the case of Panko Vina Co., Ltd. (My Phuoc 1 Industrial Park, Ben Cat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) announcing the termination of operations before the 2026 Lunar New Year, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters went to boarding houses to record the lives of workers.
Panko Vina Co., Ltd. has about 2,700 workers. Many workers rent rooms about 1km from the company so they can walk to the factory to work.
Ms. Hoang Thi Hang's family (39 years old, from Nghe An) rented a room to live on D18A street (Ben Cat ward). Ms. Hang said that she has worked at Panko Vina Co., Ltd. since 2007.
I came to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business a long time ago, but my income was low, so my husband and I still had to live in a rented room. Due to difficult conditions, my 2 young children had to be sent back to the countryside to be taken care of by relatives. My income is only from 6-11 million VND/month. My husband and I had to be very frugal to have enough to spend and send back to the countryside to raise our children. Now the company announces the termination of operations, which makes me very worried. Work and income will be interrupted, life will be more difficult" - Ms. Hang shared.
At the boarding house on D17A street, we met Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (40 years old, from Vinh Long province). Her family's meal only includes braised tilapia and vegetable soup. Ms. Phuong shared that she has worked at Panko Vina Co., Ltd. for about 7.5 years. According to Ms. Phuong, if there are overtime, she earns about 11 million VND per month, and if there are no overtime, it is only about 6 million VND. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, the company's orders have decreased, with fewer overtime.
We work as workers, and our income only depends on overtime, however, recently the company has no overtime. If we only work 8 hours/day, we get a salary of 6 million VND/month. My husband works as a security guard, and each month's salary is only nearly 6 million VND. With this income, my husband and I and our children have to be really frugal to be able to stick to Ho Chi Minh City" - Ms. Phuong shared.
Hoping the company will pay the 13th month salary to have money to cover expenses
Working hard all year round, with low monthly income, workers only hope to have a 13-month salary to cover expenses at the end of the year.
With an income of 12 million VND/month for both husband and wife, we have to pay rent, money for 2 children's education, money for taking care of parents in the countryside... Every month's salary is spent, even short before and after. So at the end of the year, we only hope to be paid the 13th month salary by the company. Thanks to this income, we have money to visit our hometown and cover Tet expenses" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong shared.
Similarly, Ms. Hoang Thi Hang said that her hometown is far away, money to return to her hometown during Tet every year depends on the 13th month salary.
The company announced the termination of operations before the Lunar New Year but did not specify the payment of the 13th month salary, which makes us very worried. The first worry is losing our jobs and having no income to cover expenses. Another worry is that Tet has arrived and we do not have money to buy bus tickets to return to our hometown. Our wish is that Panko Vina Co., Ltd. will pay the 13th month salary so that we have money to cover living expenses" - Ms. Hang expressed.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper reported that on December 23, Panko Vina Co., Ltd. issued a notice about the termination of the company's production and business activities from February 1, 2026. On December 29, workers stopped working to present their wishes to the company.
Panko Vina Co., Ltd. said that it has submitted the 13th month salary payment plan to the parent company in Korea and is waiting for the decision of the Chairman of the company. The company will have a decision on December 30 and notify employees.
