Workers in Nghe An are eagerly awaiting the 6.6 trillion VND housing rental support package.

Difficulty followed difficulty

The lives of migrant workers living in rented accommodations are a typical example of the hardships of making a living. Far from home, they struggle not only with material necessities but also with emotional support. Currently, a common thread among these migrant workers is that almost all of them have experienced the challenges of being COVID-19 positive, facing numerous difficulties.

Around the VSIP Industrial Park, there are many rows of accommodation for workers. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

We met Phan Van Cuong (from Yen Thanh district) in a newly built rented house near the VSIP Industrial Park at 5 PM. Cuong has been working at the VSIP Industrial Park for several months now. Before that, he worked as a factory worker for a large technology corporation in Bac Giang. Explaining his reason for returning to Nghe An despite the higher salary in Bac Giang, Cuong said: “It’s just my mother and me at home, and she’s getting old, so I wanted to work closer to home so I could easily go back and take care of her. However, during this period, the company has had many orders canceled, and there’s no overtime, so the salary I receive is low.”just over 4 million per month"Rent alone is 750,000 dong, not including electricity, water, and food. It's hard enough supporting myself, let alone my mother." Having gone through many hardships and challenges, although born in 2001, Cuong's face looks much more mature and pensive than his age.

For Ms. Vy Thi Xuan, the main pressure on her salary comes from taking care of her two young children. Her current salary is around 4-5 million VND, while she has to work until 8 pm. Her husband only worked for a week after Tet before quitting due to the pandemic. "We know that the life of a factory worker is hard and the hours are irregular, but we still wanted to bring our children from Quy Hop down here, partly because we want to take care of and educate them ourselves, and partly because we want them to have better educational opportunities so that they won't have to struggle so much in the future," Ms. Xuan confided.

Vy Thi Xuan's family has faced continuous difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Ms. Xuan's family of four recovered from Covid-19 a week ago, and during that week of illness, she, her husband, their 7-year-old daughter, and their 3-year-old son stayed in their 20-square-meter rented room.²The streets of Dang Thai Mai are packed with houses. Holding a piece of paper listing the rent, electricity, and water bills for March, Ms. Xuan sighed: "Rent is 900,000 dong plus electricity and water, that's 1,400,000 dong. With two children starting school soon, there will be even more expenses. I just hope..."stable jobto make ends meet."

Of all the rented rooms we visited, the one owned by Mr. Hoang Huu Bach (Dien Chau) was the most "impressive". The interior of the room, which is about 9 square meters, is impressive.²His only belongings were an old bed and a rickety, almost collapsing plywood cupboard. He brought some essential items from home and lived a simple, makeshift life to earn money to send back to his parents, wife, and children. "I've calculated it, buying groceries and cooking at home is a bit more work, but it'll save money. Everything is very expensive in Vinh; if I'm not thrifty, I won't have enough money to support my wife and children," Bách explained while preparing dinner before his night shift.

Despite living alone, Mr. Bach still cooks his own meals to save money. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Understanding the difficulties faced by workers, landlady Tran Thi Thao (Hung Tay) said: “The workers renting rooms at my place all come from remote districts, they have a very hard life and no savings. During the recent pandemic, partly because the factories had fewer orders, partly because they lost their jobs due to contracting Covid-19, and partly because of poor health after illness… Their lives became even more difficult. Every time they go home, they have to bring along bottles of fish sauce, jars of sesame seeds and peanuts, bags of rice from their hometown… to minimize expenses.”

The joy of sharing

In an effort to attract workers back to the labor market after two years of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister recently issued Decision No. 08/2022/QD-TTg dated March 28, 2022, allocating 6,600 billion VND to support housing rental costs for workers. Although many workers are not yet fully aware of the specific details of this support package, everyone is eager and looking forward to it.

Despite their low salaries, Mr. and Mrs. Tran Van Hieu (Thanh Chuong) accept spending 1.5 million VND per month on rent because they want their children to have a clean and comfortable place to live. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

When asked about the government's housing support program, worker Phan Van Cuong's face brightened: "I heard vaguely about the support package on the Bac Giang workers' group, but I haven't had time to look into it specifically, nor have I seen the company's union share anything about it. The program is very meaningful; whether it's a little or a lot, this support is of great value to us poor workers."

Similarly, Ms. Xuan's family is also unaware of the details of this support package. She said: "I get home from work at 8 pm, and after cleaning up and showering, it's already time to go to bed. The next morning I wake up at 5 am to get the children ready and rush to work, leaving no time to watch TV or check the news on my phone. All information is being announced by the company's labor union, and I haven't heard anything about this yet. But hearing about it already makes me feel cared for, encouraged, and supported."

Ms. Xuan and Mr. Cuong's comments reflect the shared sentiments of many workers at this time. Although they haven't fully grasped the information and don't know if they are eligible for support, everyone is excited about the program.

The lives of migrant workers living in rented accommodations are fraught with difficulties. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Explaining why the housing rental support program has not been widely implemented at the grassroots level, Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - Vice President of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union, said: "Decision No. 08 aims to share and support workers who are still facing housing difficulties so that they can work with peace of mind, participate in production recovery, and support businesses."retaining employees"The aim is to restore and develop production and business, while also attracting back workers who, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, had to leave the city and return to their hometowns. However, since the program is only applied to certain areas, we are waiting for specific guidance from the authorities before disseminating information to workers."

According to statistics, Nghe An currently has over 30,000 workers in the Southeast Economic Zone and industrial parks. Of these, nearly 6,000 workers are renting accommodation with rents ranging from 500,000 VND to 1,500,000 VND per month.

The two categories of workers in industrial parks, export processing zones, and key economic zones who are eligible for housing rental support under Decree No. 82/2018/ND-CP are:

1. Employed workers: Eligibility requirements include: renting or lodging between February 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022; having an indefinite-term employment contract or a fixed-term employment contract of one month or more, concluded and commenced before April 1, 2022; and participating in compulsory social insurance (listed in the compulsory social insurance participation list of the Social Insurance agency) in the month immediately preceding the time the enterprise compiles the list of workers requesting housing allowance support.

In cases where employees are not subject to mandatory social insurance as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 2 of Government Decree No. 115/2015/ND-CP dated November 11, 2015, detailing some provisions of the Law on Social Insurance regarding mandatory social insurance, their names must be on the company's payroll list for the month immediately preceding the time the company compiles the list of employees requesting housing allowance support. The support amount is 500,000 VND per month, for a maximum of 3 months.

2. Workers returning to the labor market. Eligibility conditions are: currently renting or residing in rented accommodation between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022; having an indefinite-term employment contract or a fixed-term employment contract of one month or more, concluded and performed between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022, excluding contracts that are continuations of previously concluded and performed employment contracts; and participating in compulsory social insurance (listed in the compulsory social insurance participation list of the Social Insurance agency) in the month immediately preceding the time the employer compiles the list of workers requesting housing allowance support. Support amount: VND 1,000,000/month, maximum 3 months, paid monthly.