Tet bonus for workers in Nghe An: Is it enough to settle down?

Light and dark colors

Currently, all businesses and units have announced the Lunar New Year 2025 bonus levels for employees. In general, the levelsTet bonusThis year is considered high compared to previous years.

According to statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the average bonus of enterprises in the whole province on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025 is 3.6 million VND/person, higher than previous years. Similarly, in the Southeast Economic Zone, the average bonus this year in enterprises in this unit is about 5.2 million VND/person, 1 million VND higher than last year's average. Besides the reason that the increase in basic salary leads to an increase in Tet bonus, many comments say that enterprises are making efforts to improve salaries and bonuses to attract workers in the current situation of labor shortage.

Although the overall picture has improved, the situation in specific enterprises has recorded contrasting realities. According to statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the highest recorded bonus is 74 million VND/person. The lowest is 300 thousand VND/person. Corresponding to this difference are contrasting business and production situations in the units.

For many businesses, 2024 is considered a year of recovery after a difficult period due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, so the general income of workers will increase significantly. Accordingly, the average salary of workers at state-owned enterprises is 8 million VND/month, at FDI enterprises is 6.5 million VND/month, at non-state enterprises is 6.2 million VND/month. In some businesses, the Tet bonus for workers is up to 5 months' salary/person.

In addition to the units recovering and developing, the difficult situation in production and business is recorded in many private enterprises, especially those in the transportation, construction, and livestock sectors... According to information from the Vinh City Labor Federation, at the end of 2024, this unit dissolved many grassroots trade unions in the enterprise sector because it could not maintain operations, the production and business situation was stagnant, there were not enough union members and workers... In particular, among them were enterprises that were once very prominent in both scale and quantity. Among the remaining units, many enterprises had to narrow down their models, cut their workforce from thousands to hundreds, and maintain moderate operations.

Sharing about the difficulties of some affiliated enterprises, Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - Vice President of the Trade Union of the Southeast Economic Zone said: "Even in a few enterprises, although they have not announced closure, they have no more orders to produce, no money to pay workers, and even less money to give Tet bonuses - the situation is extremely pitiful. However, with the current recruitment needs, workers in these enterprises can easily find a new job, there is no concept of unemployment or waiting for the enterprise to recover."

Looking for stability

In a market with many choices, it is difficult for workers to stabilize their jobs and feel secure in their development. Currently, in industrial zones alone, the recruitment demand has reached 40,000 workers - nearly double the current number of workers (total number of workers is 42,811 people). This number predicts fierce competition in the labor market in the coming time. This is the reason why businesses are trying to "score points" with workers and employees through salaries, bonuses and activities.

These days, in most enterprises with a large number of workers in the province, employee appreciation programs are organized vigorously with diverse activities, invested in both content, form and value. In addition to the prescribed Tet bonus, employees have the opportunity to receive other valuable gifts and rewards in the form of lucky draws, honors, etc. "Workers can win motorbikes, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. after such events. However, all these gifts are drawn and given after Tet, as a way to retain employees so they do not quit their jobs after Tet holiday" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, a worker at a garment company in Bac Vinh Industrial Park shared.

In addition to the Tet bonus and special events, right before the Lunar New Year 2025, Luxshare ICT Nghe An Co., Ltd. - the enterprise with the largest number of workers in the province today, has announced to all employees about the decision to increase salaries and allowances. Accordingly, this enterprise has adjusted the basic salary from 4 million 500 thousand VND to 4 million 950 thousand VND/month; increased the housing allowance from 300 thousand VND/month to 500 thousand VND/month. The time to apply the new salary and allowance policy is from February 1, 2025. At the same time, a series of enterprises in the area also announcedsalary increasewith equivalent difference to compete.

Worker Nguyen Van Phu (born in 1995) - Worker of Luxhshare ICT Nghe An Co., Ltd. shared: “We understand that businesses are offering attractive benefits to attract and retain workers, and so do other businesses. Although this reality leads to the situation of workers changing jobs, looking at this mountain and that mountain when constantly comparing the benefits of companies, it must be affirmed that the benefits and position of workers have been significantly improved. However, this also shows that the current average income level of workers and laborers cannot help them settle down.”

With 7 years of working as a worker in Thai Nguyen, Mr. Phu affirmed that, despite the increase, the salary level of Nghe An as well as the welfare regimes in the province are not attractive enough compared to the labor market in other provinces and cities. Indeed, the situation of "job hopping" after Tet has long been considered an "inevitable" phenomenon for workers. Many workers - especially young workers, have the mindset of working to receive Tet bonuses and then looking for another job with a better salary next year.

Sharing the same opinion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Tra (32 years old, worker at WHA Industrial Park, Nghi Loc district) shared: “My Tet bonus of 1 month salary and a gift worth 300,000 VND is not enough for me to cover my necessary expenses during Tet. Although the basic salary has been increased last year, it is still not enough compared to the increase in consumer goods prices and spending levels. Although I am very reluctant to change jobs and environments, I am willing to find a new job to have a higher income.”

Considered as the "acceleration" phase of the breakthrough, the labor market situation from now until 2030 will be extremely volatile and fierce. In addition to salary and bonus policies to retain employees, businesses need to develop many long-term policies to attract workers. With the current average income, we still cannot compete with other localities, workers still cannot settle down, and the labor force still cannot feel secure in contributing.