Workers and laborers rush back to work after Tet

Từ 7h00’ sáng 20/2, tức mùng 5 Tết, chị Đặng Thị Linh (Nam Anh, Nam Đàn) cùng với gần 3.000 công nhân của Công ty TNHH Haivina Kim Liên đã bắt đầu ngày làm việc đầu tiên của năm mới Mậu Tuất 2018 với lời chúc mừng năm mới, động viên, khích lệ khí thế làm việc từ hệ thống phát thanh của công đoàn công ty.

Ms. Linh smiled and shared: “We are all very happy to see our colleagues again after the long Tet holiday. Before Tet, the company paid out full salaries and bonuses, the union gave gifts and organized a year-end meal for female workers, so we felt the care from the company. In the new year, everyone encouraged each other to work overtime to increase income while ensuring the best quality products.”

Workers work at the factory of Minh Anh - Kim Lien Garment Joint Stock Company in Bac Vinh Industrial Park, Vinh City. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Although it is the first working day of the new year, the production atmosphere at the factories is still serious and urgent. Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc - Head of Human Resources Department of Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited said that the orders that have been backlogged since before Tet need to be completed urgently to meet the delivery schedule for customers. As of February 21, the 6th day of Tet, 100% of workers have returned to work as usual.

“The company has 96% female employees, so after Tet, the company's union quickly learned about the circumstances of some female workers with difficult economic conditions, single-parent families, and children who had to be sent to their grandparents in the countryside... to promptly encourage, share, help, and contribute to creating conditions for them to work with peace of mind. Therefore, in general, the spirit of the workers is excited, confident, and wants to stay with the company for a long time,” said Ms. Ngoc.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, tens of thousands of workers from companies and businesses in Nghe An have returned to work. Photo: Phuoc Anh

At Nghe An International Agricultural Nutrition Company Limited (Dong Nam Economic Zone), Ms. Bui Thi Thuy - Head of the company's Human Resources Administration Department said that 103 workers of the company fully followed the working schedule at the beginning of the year, going to work from February 21, the 6th day of Tet. Many workers shared their excitement when on the first working day of the year, the company had lucky money transferred directly to everyone.

Along with that, last year, the team of workers was guaranteed full salary, 13th month bonus, along with bonus corresponding to emulation points according to company regulations, helping everyone have a full and cozy Tet with their family.

Quick statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs show that up to now, nearly 100% of workers of factories and companies in industrial parks in the province have returned to work after the Tet holiday. Assessments from the Southeast Economic Zone office also show the stability of the labor force of enterprises despite the long holiday.

After Tet, many companies in the South and North proactively hire vehicles to transport workers to work on time. Photo: source

According to Mr. Dinh Van Phong - Deputy Chief of Office of Southeast Economic Zone, most of the enterprises in the economic zone do business long-term and seriously; recruiting workers whose hometown is near the enterprise headquarters, thus limiting the rate of workers quitting their jobs due to remote circumstances, single-parent families, etc.

While tens of thousands of workers in factories and companies in the province have returned to work, many Nghe An workers who work far from home are still struggling on trains and buses to other provinces. These days, the waiting area at Vinh Station is crowded with people lying and sitting around waiting for trains. Most of the trains to the South and North are fully booked, so many people are afraid of missing the train so they arrive at the station very early.

Similarly, at bus stations, along National Highway 1A, National Highway 46, Vinh bypass, Ben Thuy bridge foot… it is not difficult to see groups of people carrying bulky luggage waiting for long-distance buses.

Workers wait for a bus to the South to work. Photo: Phuoc Anh

On the Vinh bypass near Ben Thuy 2 bridge, we met and talked with Ha Thi Lan and her husband. On the afternoon of the 7th day of Tet, it was drizzling and cold. The couple held their little daughter and stood by the roadside, along with several bulky suitcases of belongings, waiting for the bus to Gia Lai. Lan works as a worker at a fruit drying company in Gia Lai, while her husband works in Da Nang. This is a rare Tet after many years of living abroad, the couple has just returned home to reunite with their family. Not having the opportunity to work near home, the couple each works in a different place, the young child follows the mother, it is difficult in every way, but for the sake of making a living, they have to accept it as it is.

“It’s been 3 years since I’ve been home for Tet, which means it’s been 3 years since I’ve seen my child. I’m both happy and sad. This year, my company in Binh Duong organized a bus to pick up workers from Nghe An - Ha Tinh to return to work. They just had to wait in the designated area, so there was no stress about trains or buses. But when I said goodbye to my child and left him with his grandparents, I was very sad!” - Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu (Doi Cung ward, Vinh city) shared.

A mother and her child, a worker in the South, fell asleep with their luggage at Vinh station while waiting for the train. Photo: archive

Ms. Thu's feelings are also the common feelings of many Nghe An workers far from home, working in industrial zones in the South and the North. Amidst the spirit of the first days of production of the year, there are still many stories, sad and happy feelings of workers in the difficult life, trying to work hard all year to have more reunion and full Tet holidays...