Working for more than ten years, salary of 4.2 million VND/month
On December 18, 2025, Ms. Doan Thi Thuong - a health worker at Nguyen Hue Kindergarten (now in Hung Nguyen commune) - reported to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters that she is facing the risk of having her labor contract terminated from the beginning of 2026 because the commune does not have a source of funding to pay.
Ms. Thuong has worked for 13 years but her current salary is only about 4.2 million VND/month, not enough to cover living expenses.
A health worker working at a kindergarten in Lam Thanh commune said that he has worked for more than 10 years and has received a regional minimum wage according to the contract signed by the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district (old). Despite her low income, she still sticks to her job in the hope of a long-term stabilization.
Due to low income, many contract employees have to work overtime such as selling online and doing services to make ends meet.
At the end of 2025, Lam Thanh Commune People's Committee worked with school principals and announced that it was expected to terminate labor contracts for school health workers from January 2026 with the reason of "no source of payment". Currently, the whole Lam Thanh commune has 6 school health workers affected.
A kindergarten principal in Lam Thanh commune said that if the school had to sign a contract with the health staff, it would be extremely difficult to source funding, while this is an essential workforce.
On December 18, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Huu Ha - Chairman of Lam Thanh Commune People's Committee - confirmed that the locality is having difficulty in allocating funds for school health workers.
"The commune budget is not enough to cover. Currently, there is no school health insurance, so handling is very difficult. The commune is asking for support from the province and waiting for the direction of the Provincial People's Committee," said Mr. Ha.
The lack of funding to pay for contract workers in schools does not only occur in Lam Thanh commune. Mr. Nguyen Van Dan - Vice Chairman of Hung Nguyen Commune People's Committee - said that there are currently 7 teachers and contract staff in the commune at schools.
"Currently, the commune is facing a very difficult situation because there is no funding to continue signing contracts with this number of workers, and there is no funding to hand them over to the school. We are making a report and asking for the province's direction to have a suitable handling direction, to avoid disadvantages for workers and difficulties for schools," Mr. Dan informed.
Removing difficulties in managing teachers and contract staff
Worrying about the termination of the contract and affecting the rights from the beginning of 2026 is the common mentality of the team of teachers and contract staff in Nghe An province. Currently, the whole province has hundreds of teachers and contract staff at schools.
Regarding the management of the team of teachers and contract staff after implementing the 2-level local government model, a representative of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training (DET) said that the entire team of teachers and staff, including contract workers outside the payroll, has been handed over to the People's Committees at the commune level for management. The allocation of civil servant payroll receiving salaries from the budget in 2025 will only be adjusted for civil servants in the payroll, without affecting the contract workforce.
Nghe An Department of Education and Training also said that the recruitment of civil servants must be carried out according to Government regulations.
The Department will coordinate with relevant units to research and advise the Provincial People's Committee to prioritize recruitment for contract workers signed by the District People's Committee for a long time, ensuring compliance with regulations.
The Department of Education and Training is coordinating with the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Finance and all levels and sectors to find ways to remove inadequacies and obstacles in the management of labor contracts as soon as possible.
Preschool health workers hope that the authorities will soon clarify the management mechanism, responsibility for allocating funding and have specific solutions to ensure the rights of those who have been involved in the education sector for many years, avoiding workers from falling into a situation of job loss and unstable income.
