Tet bonus with... pesticides and fertilizers

With the concept of "hungry all year round, full during the three days of Tet", after a year of hard work, workers always look forward to a decent Tet bonus to be able to save or buy valuable items for their family, relatives, or simply have a warmer and more prosperous Tet.

Some people are satisfied with receiving a large bonus, but others are saddened by the fact that their Tet bonus is only symbolic, and sometimes they only receive a few packages of candy as Tet gifts because their company is making a loss.

At the end of the year, the issue of Tet bonus is always of interest and expectation to employees.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, from Thanh Hoa, currently working for a confectionery company in Thanh Hoa, shared that this Tet holiday is like any other, she only received a case of beer and some confectionery as a bonus. Her husband, who works as a driver for a transportation company, only received a bonus of a few hundred thousand at the end of the year. "My husband's Tet bonus this year is probably not much better. My husband and I have to worry about shopping for Tet at both my husband's and my wife's families, so it's very expensive," Ms. Hoa confided.

Ms. Hoa added that for workers like her, normally to take care of their two children's education, her husband and she have to be very careful with their spending to have enough to eat, but during Tet, the worry about food and money becomes many times greater.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, a garment worker at a garment factory in Hai Duong, said that the company is small, with only more than 20 employees, and the monthly salary is usually low.

Ms. Thuy said that, like last year, her Tet bonus was 300,000 VND, along with a gift of several hats produced by the company. At this point, although she does not know the exact amount of this year's Tet bonus, Ms. Thuy hopes that when market prices increase, her company's Tet bonus will also increase a little.

According to local reports, this year's Tet bonus, the highest in some places, is up to hundreds of millions of VND, but somewhere, there are still many workers who do not dare to dream of Tet bonuses. For them, it is still an amount of money that if they are lucky, they will have it, but if not, they will have to accept it.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Quang Tho, Director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said: “According to the survey, this year's Tet bonus is not too high, does not cause shocks, and does not have a huge bonus. Enterprises all say that the Tet bonus is at a normal level. In my opinion, this year's Tet bonus is still the same as previous years.”

Regarding the general annual Tet bonus picture, Mr. Tho said that there are still bright and dark sides intertwined. “The dark side is still the main one, the bright side is there, but not much. So it can be concluded that the life of workers is still very difficult. Especially during Tet, they still look forward to Tet bonuses,” Mr. Tho shared.

According to Mr. Tho, there are some cases where businesses reward their employees with pesticides, fertilizers, etc., products of the business.

The Director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions said that the difference in bonuses between businesses is also inevitable. Businesses that are doing well will have regular and higher salaries and bonuses. On the contrary, there are also businesses that are doing poorly, even making losses, so workers have to accept low or even no Tet bonuses.

The current Labor Law does not stipulate that businesses must give Tet bonuses to employees. The amount of Tet bonus depends entirely on the generosity of the business owner, the production situation of the unit and the agreement between the two parties. Therefore, there are situations where Tet bonuses are sky-high, while other places have negative Tet bonuses.

Some people think that Tet bonuses should be legalized to ensure the rights of workers. However, Mr. Vu Quang Tho said that if the law requires businesses to give Tet bonuses to workers, it would be too rigid, causing difficulties for businesses and producers.

“For producers, to get Tet bonuses, they have to sell a lot of products and provide a lot of services. Meanwhile, the goods produced at the end of the year cannot be consumed immediately, and it is not known how much revenue will be in the last month.

On the other hand, there are businesses that are doing well, and there are businesses that are losing money. If this law is included, it will be very difficult to force businesses to comply with it," Mr. Tho analyzed.

Maintaining the viewpoint of protecting the rights of workers, however, Mr. Tho believes that it is necessary to share with businesses that are facing difficulties. The Tet bonus should only be included in the budget at the beginning of the year, and workers should be informed so that they can try to implement it.

“In my opinion, this content should only be included in the budget at the beginning of the year, and announced to employees, so that employees know and try hard. If they try hard, the business achieves its goals, then employees will have salaries and bonuses,” said Mr. Tho.

According to Mr. Vu Quang Tho, businesses should publicize their Tet bonuses. “Financial matters should still be made public, so that employees know what their goals are and how to strive. For businesses that are struggling, this is a way for employees to share with the business. For businesses that are doing well and are doing it fairly, there is nothing to be afraid of,” said Mr. Tho.