Many families are struggling due to the shortage of domestic helpers after Tet.

(Baonghean) - After the 2017 Lunar New Year holiday, most large enterprises in the area "breathed a sigh of relief" because all workers returned to work. Only small businesses and those who need to hire domestic help or hourly workers are quite worried about the shortage of labor...

Housekeeping, hourly work: Demand is greater than supply

Going through the brokerage centers at this time, it is easy to see many cases of needing to hire and recruit laborers to register to find people. Ms. Le Thi Ngo in Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city) lamented: “Before the Tet holiday, the maid promised to return early, but until now she has not returned. When I called to beg her, she said she would only come after the full moon. When I asked her why, she said she was busy with the harvest season and would only consider it after the full moon worship in January. Unable to find a maid, everything in the house was turned upside down. My child is still young and has nowhere to go, and my husband works far away. If I cannot find one, I will have to take unpaid leave to stay home and take care of the child.”

Similar to Ms. Ngo's situation, Ms. Chu Thi Nguyet in Quang Trung ward said: "The maid asked to go back to her hometown on the 26th of Tet and affirmed that she would return on the 6th, but now it is the 11th of the lunar month and she has not come back. I couldn't get through by calling, so I ran around looking for a maid, asking everyone I met, asking for help, even going through brokers but still couldn't get one because there were many people who had registered in advance, according to that list, when it was my turn, it would probably be the end of January."

Workers look for job information. Photo: Canh Nam

It can be seen that finding a domestic worker is becoming a concern for many families with few people. The average income of a domestic worker usually fluctuates around 3 million VND/month. After Tet, this price increases to 4 million VND, even 5 million VND, however, it is difficult to find one in a day or two, and it is also very difficult to retain them. The reason may be that at the beginning of the year, the hired workers still have a lot of work to do in their hometown, from family and clan matters to spring crop production... In addition, domestic workers themselves still think that their job is inferior, so they do it when they like it, and quit when they don't like it. All of these reasons make it difficult to find a domestic worker after Tet.

Not only is it difficult to find a housekeeper, the demand for workers in restaurants, cafes, and karaoke bars is also currently high. People working in this field are mainly students from universities, colleges, and vocational high schools who take advantage of their free time to work part-time. However, after Tet, partly because some schools start late, partly because they are in a holiday mood, and partly because some people are entering their final semester, they have to put aside their earning money.

Nguyen Lan Phuong, a senior student at Vinh University, said: “Last year, I worked part-time at a cafe near the Ga intersection. Although the salary was not much, it was enough to cover part of my tuition fees and support my family. However, this is my last semester, so I have to focus on studying. My main goal is to achieve the best results to increase my chances of finding a job after graduation.”

Enterprises confidently enter production

Unlike the shortage of freelance workers, although the Dinh Dau Lunar New Year holiday was shortened to only 7 days, the rate of workers returning to work at factories and enterprises right after the holiday was quite high. This is quite different from previous years, showing the trend of choosing familiar jobs and not far from home of workers in our province.

According to a survey by the Provincial Federation of Labor, the average salary at enterprises in the province (including overtime) is about 4 - 5 million VND/month, which is basically suitable for productivity, labor quality and also partly meets the living standards of workers. Along with that, other benefits such as maternity leave, sick leave, holidays, Tet, bonuses... have also been improved. In fact, if compared with the salary of workers in industrial parks and export processing zones in the South and the North, there is not much difference, so it is reasonable for them to choose to stay in their hometowns.

Job counseling at the Provincial Employment Service Center. Photo: Canh Nam

Ms. Thu Trang - HR officer of BSE Electronics Company (Nam Cam Industrial Park) said: “Every year, we are very worried about the progress of work because after each Tet holiday, the number of workers coming to work is not enough. Therefore, we had to come up with a backup plan, which is to sign a contract with the Provincial Employment Service Center to recruit 500 workers. Fortunately, out of more than 4,000 workers, only a few people took leave, so we started working right from February 2 (January 6 of the lunar calendar), ensuring the progress of orders. As for the number of workers that we recruit, we will arrange jobs in the system of BSE Vietnam companies.”

Like BSE Electronics Company, Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited (in Nam Giang Industrial Park, Nam Dan) also started production on February 2 with more than 2,350 workers returning to work (100%). This year, the Company created conditions for workers to have up to 11 days off, and on Tet holiday, workers were awarded a 13th month salary and some other gifts such as warm clothes, blankets, etc. Ms. Chu Thi Thuy in Nam Dan, a garment worker, said: “It’s the same for any job, as long as we have a stable salary, we will do it. Working in the countryside is more convenient in taking care of family and children, and you don’t have to rent a place which is both expensive and unsafe. That’s why during Tet, many friends invited me to go abroad to work and work in the South, but I still chose to stay here.”

Thus, it can be seen that, unlike previous years, workers now tend to choose jobs right in their hometown. This is partly due to the better treatment of local businesses than in previous years, which has kept workers working there. Along with that, the province's efforts to attract investment in recent years have achieved very positive results, with nearly 1,000 businesses established in 2016, vacancies have begun to form a fairly abundant labor supply. This is a great opportunity for workers in the province to choose suitable jobs. Reality has proven that many people who leave their hometown to work as workers in industrial parks and industrial clusters in other localities do not accumulate much because of countless other problems arising when having to live far from home.

South Scene