Also attending with General Secretary and President To Lam were: Mr. Nguyen Duy Ngoc - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Organization Committee; Mr. Le Minh Tri - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nghi - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Commission; General Phan Van Giang - Member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense; General Luong Tam Quang - Member of the Politburo, Minister of Public Security; General Nguyen Trong Nghia - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army; Mr. Tran Luu Quang - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.
On the side of the Trade Union organization were Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front, central mass organizations, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; trade union officials and nearly 300 union members and workers in Ho Chi Minh City.
Most workers want to rent social housing
Speaking at the opening of the program, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor expressed his pleasure and honor to welcome General Secretary, President To Lam and the Central working delegation to visit and encourage. The visit took place on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of International Labor Day, Workers' Month 2026 and the preparation for organizing the 14th Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union for the 2026-2031 term, showing the deep concern of the Party, State and the General Secretary, President personally for the Trade Union organization and workers of the city named after Uncle Ho in particular and the whole country in general.
Reporting on the situation of workers, Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Nguyen Anh Tuan said: "Currently, according to incomplete statistics, there are about 17 million workers working in enterprises, units, and cooperatives nationwide. This number often fluctuates due to the requirements of socio-economic development and the labor market. After nearly 40 years of renovation, our country's workers have made strong progress in quantity, quality and structure. There are more and more workers working in industries, services, and high technology; educational level and vocational skills are gradually being improved; young age, mainly from 19 to 35, mostly from farmers; patriotic, responsible to family, businesses and the country; have aspirations to rise up, desire to master science and technology, and a part has many initiatives and innovations in labor production...".
According to Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Nguyen Anh Tuan, most workers are working in labor-intensive enterprises; jobs and income are unstable, and the number of workers with financial accumulation is not large... "Most workers want to rent social housing, to be better met with schools, medical examination and treatment places, entertainment venues, and salaries to live on. Through the channel of collecting public opinion of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, workers are very excited about the policies of the Party and State initiated by General Secretary To Lam on tuition fee exemption policies, lunch support, food safety assurance, and hospital fee exemption policies for people, including workers," said Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Nguyen Anh Tuan.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan affirmed that in the face of new requirements, the Trade Union organization always considers employees as the center of all operating plans. The focus in the near future is to form long-term welfare programs, apply digital transformation and transparent and effective trade union financial management to bring the most practical benefits to union members.
At the program, workers also shared and proposed about jobs, salaries and social welfare with General Secretary and President To Lam. Workers hope that the Party and State will continue to pay attention to building more social housing, quality hospitals and developing schools near industrial parks.
How to make workers not only have jobs but also have stable housing
General Secretary and President shared the difficulties and hardships of workers in work and daily life, there are still many things to worry about; at the same time, praised the efforts and endeavors of workers in life and work; the meaningful activities of the Trade Union organization in caring for the lives of union members and workers.
According to the General Secretary and President, the Party, State and government of Ho Chi Minh City are very understanding of issues related to the lives of workers, clearly recognizing the responsibility to take better care of workers and laborers.
The General Secretary and President requested Ho Chi Minh City to continue to consider taking care of the lives of workers and laborers as an important, regular and long-term political task. Ho Chi Minh City needs to review more carefully the needs for social housing, dormitories for workers, schools, kindergartens, health stations, cultural institutions, community living areas in industrial parks, export processing zones and areas with many workers.
We must ensure that brothers and sisters not only have jobs but also have stable housing; not only have income but also have conditions to raise children, take care of parents in the countryside; not only work but also have to rest, study, play, and improve their spiritual life.
I also propose that trade union levels must be closer to workers, understand workers better, speak the voice of workers and practically protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of workers" - General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized.
The General Secretary and President also requested businesses and employers to continue to pay more attention to the lives of their workers. Workers are not only hired laborers but also companions of businesses. Businesses want to develop sustainably, they must take care of the lives of workers, ensure wages, benefits, working conditions, and labor safety; must listen to initiatives, respect dignity and create opportunities for workers to learn and improve their skills. When workers are assured to stick with and proud of their jobs, businesses will be stronger, more stable and develop for a longer time.
The General Secretary and President instructed workers to constantly learn and improve their skills, continue to maintain faith, solidarity, and the will to rise up. Live with affection and help each other.
Each worker should try to learn a new skill, do better in their work every day; boldly propose initiatives, technical improvements, and save materials to ensure safety and improve product quality" - General Secretary, President instructed workers.
Today's meeting, we determine that it is not only a visit activity, but also a reminder that: behind the growth targets, behind the factories, industrial parks, production lines is the very specific life of each worker, each worker's family, each child, each father and mother in their hometown. Right policies, practical actions, and timely care can help a family overcome difficulties and illnesses, help a child have more conditions to go to school and study, and help workers have more faith in the future" - General Secretary and President To Lam said.
The General Secretary and President believes that, with the tradition of affection of Ho Chi Minh City, the lives of workers and laborers will continue to improve better.
