A warm Tet away from home

Due to the heavy impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on employment as income reduced and difficult circumstances induced, many workers chose to stay in Binh Duong to celebrate the 2022 Lunar New Year instead of going back to their hometown for family reunion like in the previous years. Tet is far from home, but they still feel cozy because they are living and working in the loving and compassionate Binh Duong.

Ms. Nguyen Kim Loan, Chairwoman of Binh Duong provincial Trade Union, offers Tet gifts to workers whose relatives had died of COVID-19

Far but close

In the atmosphere of the last days of the year, the streets are filled with spring colors of red couplets, Tet gift baskets, apricot trees, and blooming yellow chrysanthemum flower pots to welcome the new spring. The heart of the house is more and more agitated than the joy of Tet in the homeland. This year, the way back home to celebrate Tet of children far from home is longer because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Including this year, it has been the 4th consecutive year that Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong's family, from Nghe An province and workers of Shyang Hung Cheng Co. Ltd. in Thuan An city did not return to their hometown to celebrate Tet. Ms. Hong said that she and her husband have two children - the oldest is in 5th Grade this year, and the younger one has just turned 4 years old this year; due to a life of hardship and with a combined monthly salary of just over VND 14 million while living away from home, they have many things to spend on including accommodation, electricity, water, milk for children, school fees etc., many of which only depend on the monthly salary. Therefore, what needs to be done must be planned in advance even the trip home to celebrate Tet.

To prepare for the trip home to celebrate Tet with her family, Ms. Hong and her husband have been planning for many years. For the past 3 years, every month, Ms. Hong had to calculate and save her family's living expenses, cut down on unnecessary expenses to save money on the cost of returning to her hometown to celebrate Tet and plan this year's New Year for the whole family to come back home and reunite with family and relatives in the countryside to celebrate Tet. However, the plans for the trip home had to be put aside because during the recent large-scale outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the company had to stop operating, and they have stayed home from work for many months, that reduced their income. Despite receiving food support from the government and mass organizations, Ms. Hong's family also faced many problems, so she had to spend on the savings that she had previously preserve for the returning trip to her hometown on Tet. “In previous years, I could not return to my hometown due to living; this year, I was immediately affected by the epidemic. I stay, but I'm still happy because there is concern and care from the company and the union," said Ms. Hong.

In order to increase her income and improve living, after work, Hong's husband also took advantage of servicomg Grab motorbike. Mr. Manh, husband of Ms. Hong, a worker at a company in Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park 1, said that there were days when guests all hired him to earn cost-excluded VND 200,000 - 300,000. “Try to take advantage of the plow to have more fields to go to the fields to have a more stable life, a cozy Tet and send it back to the hometown to give to the parents of both sides for Tet shopping. This year's Tet, even though we have to be far away from home, the family can still "reunify" by the support of a smartphone that brings the atmosphere of Tet closer to the countryside," Mr. Manh shared.

Also choosing to stay in Binh Duong to celebrate Tet instead of returning to her hometown like every other years before because of declined income after the epidemic, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, a native of Kien Giang and a worker at Shayng Hung Cheng Co. Ltd., said her husband worked as a bricklayer, so his job and income were precarious. During the time of implementing social distancing to prevent and control the epidemic, without a job and decreased income, the family had to borrow money from acquaintances to spend and take care of the two young children. After returning to work for a few months, the income from salary and Tet bonus only helps them to cover their debts and stabilize their life through Tet. “The epidemic is still complicated, it is hard to return to the hometown, unfortunately, the disease broke out and then being quaratined and blocked, we were unable to return to the company to work, which was miserable. The trade union saw that the family's situation was hard to get through, so they gave us Tet gifts. In this New Year, my wife and I will stay in Binh Duong as being well taken care of; we are feeling warmer and less homesick. In our memories of the countryside, we hope that, in the new year, everything will be better," said Ms. Ngoc.

Heart-warming staying people

According to a reporter's research, after a hardship year of epidemics, in this year's Lunar New Year, about 500,000 employees, of whom 23,950 are in extremely problematic circumstances uable to return to their hometown but to stay in Binh Duong to welcome Tet. Understanding the feelings of those workers being far from home, the Party Committee, authorities, departments, agencies, mass organizations as well as businesses have joined hands to organize many full and cozy Tet caring activities.

Mr. Mai Thanh Tuyen, Chairman of the grassroots trade union of Shyang Hung Cheng Co. Ltd., said that due to the harsh COVID-19 epidemic, about 90% of employees out of more than 8,000 workers in the company have to stay in Binh Duong for Tet. In addition to the company's welfare policy like the 13th month salary, the company's grassroots trade union also gave gifts of essential food of VND 300,000 a piece to 160 workers. The company's board of directors also gave gifts of VND 1 million each to workers in extremely difficult circumstances.

Mr. Truong Van Phi, Deputy Chairman of the Trade Union of Ben Cat Industrial Parks, said that this year, over 70% of workers working in the industrial park will stay. Right from the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2021, the Trade Union of Ben Cat Industrial Park has actively built practical Tet caring activities for union members and workers. Particularly, the Trade Union of Ben Cat Industrial Park awarded 3,500 gifts to union members and workers in extremely difficult circumstances; each worths VND 500,000; they organize the program of "Tet reunion" for grassroots trade union officials in difficult circumstances and workers inflicted by occupational accidents.

Ms. Nguyen Kim Loan, Chairwoman of the provincial Trade Union, said: "This year's Tet caring activities for union members and workers are flexibly organized by trade unions at an appropriate scale and form to ensure good care, visit, encouragement, and gift giving to workers. At the same time, grassroots trade unions actively coordinate with businesses to organize cultural, entertainment, year-end and new-year activities to serve union members and internal workers at the enterprises. Before, during and after Tet, it is associated with a gratitude organization to thank workers after a hard and difficult year but still accompanying the business. These activities are aimed to promptly encourage and share some hardship with union members and workers in both material and spiritual terms to welcome a warm spring in Binh Duong.”

Với những nỗ lực từ phía cấp ủy, chính quyền cùng các ban ngành, đoàn thể cũng như doanh nghiệp trong việc chung tay, góp sức tổ chức nhiều hoạt động chăm lo công nhân lao động, đặc biệt là những công nhân lao động xa quê, có hoàn cảnh khó khăn bị ảnh hưởng bởi dịch bệnh Covid-19... sẽ đón một cái tết xa nhà nhưng thật đầy đủ, ấm cúng, tiếp thêm động lực để công nhân lao động gắn bó làm việc lâu dài với doanh nghiệp, với quê hương Bình Dương…

With the efforts of the Party Committee, the authorities, departments, unions as well as businesses in joint hands, contributing to organizing many activities to take care of workers, especially immigrant workers having harsh circumstances as affected by the COVID-19 epidemic will welcome a Tet holiday away from home but in full and cozy atmosphere that offers more motivation for workers to work in long-term with the businesses in the homeland of Binh Duong.

Reported by Do Trong – Translated by Vi Bao

• Implementing policies, laws on ensuring traffic order and safety under survey (19/04)
• Many jubilant programs and activities celebrating the establishment of Ben Cat City (19/04)
• Provincial Red Cross awards scholarships to disadvantaged students in Thu Dau Mot City (19/04)
• Vietnam, Russia bolster education, training collaboration (17/04)
• Vietnam, Australia vow to strengthen climate, energy cooperation (17/04)
• The whole country has 93.6 million people having health insurance (17/04)
• Heat wave grips regions, temperatures rise to 42 degrees (16/04)
• Ben Cat town war veterans in active participation in law dissemination (16/04)