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Mr. Pham Thanh Tinh and his wife both work as 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; plus 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". The male worker listed: House rent and electricity and water costs are about 2.5 million VND/month; food and living expenses are no less than 5 - 6 million VND/month; the money for two young children to go to private kindergarten is 5 million VND/month... which means that almost no money can be saved, every month is spent.
The small cramped rented room is where he and his wife live, his elderly mother is asked to come up to look after her grandchild. Although they really want to move to a more spacious place to live, with their current income, they cannot afford it. And the dream of buying a private house is still too far away.
The story of Mr. Tinh's family is also a common story of many workers' families today. They are not lacking in work will, not lacking in aspiration to rise up, and even more lacking in love for their families. What they lack is a stable enough foundation to be able to feel secure in living, raising children, learning more skills and moving forward for a long time in industrial parks and export processing zones.
Income is always the first concern in every worker's family. Monthly salary is the main source of livelihood, but expenses are constantly increasing. For families with young children, living expenses are stretched by milk money, tuition fees, medical examination fees, rent, and travel expenses.
According to the latest survey of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor announced on June 23 at the 2027 minimum wage negotiation session of the National Wage Council, many figures related to the lives of workers' families are very thought-provoking.
This survey was conducted in March and April 2026 with 2,000 workers at nearly 200 businesses in 7 provinces and cities. The results showed that: 55% of single workers said that wage pressure is the main reason they are not married. Many people believe that current income is not enough to ensure a stable life for marriage, especially in the context of increasing living expenses, housing and raising children.
In the married group, 73% said that current salaries affect the plan to have more children. 55% of workers said that salaries only meet part of their children's learning needs. Many people have to use savings, borrow money or ask for support from relatives to cover expenses related to education. 54% of workers said that their income is just enough for basic family expenses; 17% have to spend sparingly; 21% are not enough to live on and have to work overtime to compensate for their income. Only 8% have the ability to accumulate... ...
This is the main basis for the VGCL to propose adjusting the regional minimum wage from January 1, 2027 with two options of increasing by 9.8% or 8.5%.
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To make workers' families happy, first of all, it is necessary to help them have enough income to live on and have the opportunity to increase sustainable income. This comes not only from adjusting the minimum wage, but also from substantive collective negotiation, quality meals, corporate welfare, a safe working environment, transparent bonus policies and vocational training opportunities to move to higher-income positions.
For many migrant workers, the rented room is a "roof" that has lasted for many years. But it is often a makeshift roof. Summer is as hot as fire, rainy season water floods the door. Small rooms, lack of private space, children have no place to study, adults have no place to rest in the true sense.
Resettlement is an important condition for workers to be attached to businesses and localities. But if social housing and worker accommodation are still lacking, if access procedures are complicated, if rents still exceed affordability, the dream of resettlement is still far away for many people.
The solution cannot just be to build more houses, but to build according to the needs. Workers really need rental housing at reasonable prices, near their workplace, with kindergartens, cultural activity centers, children's playgrounds, grassroots health facilities, supermarkets with stable prices and public transport connections. Worker housing should not just be blocks of houses for sleeping, but must be a living space with community, services and care.
A happy family cannot be without the sound of children being cared for, educated and growing up safely with their parents. Therefore, caring for workers' children must be considered part of labor policy. It is necessary to develop safe kindergartens and childcare groups in industrial parks; have scholarships for children of workers in difficult circumstances; open libraries, skills classes, weekend playgrounds; organize school psychological counseling and career guidance programs for workers' children.
A happy worker family is not a family without difficulties. It is a family with enough support to overcome difficulties. That support starts from stable income, safe accommodation, children being educated, husband and wife having time to share, and each person having the opportunity to develop themselves. These things will lay the foundation for happiness.
It is necessary to put the worker's family at the center of social security policy. When discussing salaries, it must be seen that behind the salary is family meals. When discussing housing, it must be seen that behind the rented room is the childhood of children. When discussing vocational training, it must be seen that behind the classroom is the future of workers in a changing economy.
Speaking at the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, term 2026 - 2031, just held at the beginning of June, General Secretary and President To Lam set out the requirement: "Trade unions also need to pay attention to the lives of workers because besides factories, enterprises, and production workshops, they are also surrounded by society, villages, streets, residential areas, families, grandparents, parents, siblings, and grandchildren of workers.
This shows that the responsibility of the Trade Union organization is very large. Personal happiness and family happiness cannot be separated from the goal of "Good labor, High productivity, Good income". That is both motivation and the goal of workers and laborers.
Only when each worker lives in a happy home will they contribute more, businesses will be more stable, industrial parks will be more humane, and the country's development will also be more sustainable.
