Recorded in workers' dormitory

The rooms are lacking everything.

I met Ms. Ha Thi Phuong's family during a working trip.Labor FederationThe province came to give gifts to workers in private boarding houses near Bac Vinh Industrial Park (Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district). It was 6 pm, while other boarding houses were busy cooking, Mr. Cuong and his wife Ms. Phuong seemed to have more free time, so they went out to the hallway to chat and call their child. While cuddling their child through the phone screen, Ms. Phuong said: "When the baby was 14 months old, my husband and I left him with his grandparents in Que Phong and then came down here. It's been almost 5 months since I went to work and haven't seen him. I miss him so much!"

Ms. Phuong and her husband call their child after work. Photo: Diep Thanh

Being away from home, away from children, even away from husbands and wives is a common situation for many workers who rent accommodation. For them, the time when the longing becomes most intense in the day is probably in the afternoon with the sound of boiling rice and the clattering of knives and cutting boards.

The rented room of Ms. Phuong and her husband has an area of ​​about 12-14 m2.², built not long ago so the paint is still new. However, the room has a corrugated iron roof, nestled between the surrounding houses. The only window facing the side of the owner's house cannot draw in the breeze, the stuffiness condenses into drops of sweat on the faces of the members. Phuong and her husband cope with the heat and stuffiness of summer with a small blue electric fan borrowed from the owner of the boarding house. In that condition, even if turned on at full capacity, the fan is difficult to cool down the room.

The Provincial Labor Federation visited and gave gifts to workers at boarding houses during "Workers' Month 2022". Photo: Diep Thanh

The room at the far end of the row, with a window facing a small garden, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong and his wife (workers renting a room in Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district) rarely have to complain about the heat. Instead, mosquitoes and rain leaks are the problems that bother them. Mr. Tuong said: “Because our row of rooms was built a long time ago, the walls are peeling and damp. The old, patchy drainage system and the lush surrounding gardens are the reasons why the row of rooms has a lot of mosquitoes, even though we clean it regularly. When it rains heavily, it is even worse, the rain splashes wet the hallway, not to mention the leaking roof or water seeping from the walls.”

Luckily family members do not have to be apart from each other when they leave.Quynh Luu districtWorking as workers at VSIP Industrial Park, the difficulty of Ho Thi Ngan and her husband is that the rented room is too small but there are too many people. The rented room is more than 15 m²The couple's house is a place for 3 adults and 2 children: the couple, 2 children and grandmother. With a total salary of more than 10 million VND/month for both husband and wife, diapers and milk costing 5-6 million VND, the couple can only live in this room, accepting that one person sleeps on the bed, the other sleeps on the floor, cramped and stuffy under the sweltering summer heat. "When my wife was pregnant, it was already hard, now that the baby is born, it's even harder. Because the heat is unbearable, my husband and I recently saved up and bought an old steam fan so that my grandmother and grandchildren can sleep better. However, with this weather, even with a fan, many days the children still cry because of the heat and prickly heat," Ms. Ngan's husband sighed.

Mr. Cuong and Ms. Phuong's family meal with some food begged from the company canteen. Photo: Diep Thanh

I have witnessed the hesitation and consideration of workers when lifting up and putting down a bunch of vegetables, the regretful looks before a piece of clean meat or a bunch of fresh fish... But this time, when accidentally coming to the workers at mealtime, the deprivation, struggle, and hand-to-mouth showed in a different way. "Do you realize that this plate of fish does not have any whole fish? It's because I asked for them from today's lunch at the company canteen. I don't have to go to the market to cook, just reheating these leftovers will save some of the dinner cost", Ms. Lo Thi Phuong laughed.

It was completely dark, when the rows of boarding houses were filled with clinking dishes from meals, Ms. Le Thi Oanh hurriedly parked her car and opened her room. Today her company was working overtime and she didn’t have time to buy anything at the market. Quickly grabbing a plastic basket, Ms. Oanh went to the landlord’s vegetable garden. Holding the basket in one hand and picking with the other, Ms. Oanh shared: “I came from Nghia Dan to stay and work here for a year now. The landlord is kind and loves poor workers, so he let us use the vegetable garden to improve. However, we also intended to keep it for him, so we only asked him when we were in a tight spot.”

Working late, Ms. Oanh went to the landlord's garden to pick some vegetables to prepare dinner. Photo: Diep Thanh

Living with two girlfriends, tonight's dinner in Ms. Oanh's room will consist of boiled vegetables, fried eggs, and some sesame and eggplant jars brought from home. Ms. Oanh added that the workers' dormitory is poor but everyone is very affectionate, whoever goes back to their hometown takes the opportunity to bring extra food to share with the neighbors.

Need attention

In the poverty of workers’ lives, it is easy to encounter the moments of sharing that Ms. Oanh mentioned. They give each other a bunch of bananas from their hometown or a package of dried bamboo shoots, a jar of jackfruit pickles or some tomatoes, a bundle of new peanuts or some newly dug potatoes… Not only between rooms, rows, but also between colleagues in the same company, between landlords and workers. During my trip, I always remember the story of a landlord who felt guilty because he did not have enough sticky rice to give to his guests. The gift was not worth much, but it was so lovely and precious!

Officials of the Provincial Federation of Labor and Dong Nam Economic Zone trade union grasp the thoughts and aspirations of workers in the boarding house area. Photo: Hoang Yen

Along with the visit and the desire to accompany and support, the gifts of a fan and 300,000 VND in cash that Nghe An Labor Union unexpectedly gave to the workers have a very special meaning. Sharing about this activity, comrade Kha Van Tam - Chairman of Nghe An Provincial Labor Federation said: "This is the second year we have organized the program "Going to workers' boarding houses" and feel that this activity is extremely practical. Only by going to the place where the workers live can we fully understand the difficulties and hardships of the workers, and understand that they need to be cared for.take better care of both material and spiritual matters. That care must come from the whole society, from the government to businesses, from unions to landlords, from major policies to specific activities…”.

Moved by her child receiving a gift from the Provincial Labor Federation and the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union on International Children's Day (June 1), Ms. Ho Thi Ngan confided: "The support, no matter how small or large, from groups and individuals means a lot to us poor workers. Having gone through a difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are happy to continuously receive gifts, support programs and good news. These are gifts of encouragement, a support package of 6,600 billion VND for workers renting accommodation, and information about 2 projectssocial housingfor workers. That concern is the motivation for us to strive to improve in life, to work and produce to contribute to the common development of society".

Chairman of the Provincial Federation of Labor - Mr. Kha Van Tam, presented gifts to workers renting accommodation in Hung Tay (Hung Nguyen) in the program "Come to the workers' accommodation". Photo: Diep Thanh

Understanding and sympathizing with workers renting rooms, Ms. Tran Thi Hao - owner of a boarding house in Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen) shared: "Having rented rooms to workers for many years, I understand their difficulties and limitations. Among them, many people have complexes about their position and job, many people try hard but cannot escape poverty. I know that the authorities care about workers, but I think that care needs to be more synchronous and drastic. Not just support, not just give gifts, but let the workers' lives be stable with their long-term income. When wages increase, the material and spiritual lives of workers will certainly improve."