Workers returning after Tết reaches over 95 per cent

Workers return to work at industrial and processing zone in Hà Nội following the Tết holiday.

In industrial zones, such as North Thăng Long (Đông Anh District), Quang Minh (Mê Linh District), and Hanel and Ninh Hiệp (Long Biên District), most workers returned to work by the 6th day of the Lunar New Year.

Đinh Quốc Toản, chairman of the Hà Nội Industrial and Processing Zones’ Trade Union, said that although this year the number of days celebrating Tết were fewer than last year, the percentage of workers returning to work after Tết was high due to workers’ stable salaries and preferential policies for employees.

Improved policies included increases in salaries and bonuses, along with free transportation for labourers before and after Tết. According to Toản, this encouraged workers and helped them feel secure and engaged in their work, resulting in their returning to work earlier, starting at the beginning of the new year.

In HCM City, on the 7th day of the Lunar January, the percentage of workers returning to processing and industrial parks reached 95 per cent. HCM City has over 290,000 workers in processing and industrial zones, of which 65 per cent come from other provinces.

In Đà Nẵng City, more than 90 per cent of the total 74,300 workers in the processing and industrial zones returned to work after the Tết holiday. However, some garment, seafood and steel enterprises have a later working calendar, not beginning until after 10 lunar January.

Shortage of fishermen

Meanwhile, the fishing industry is being affected as fishermen often wait until the 15th of the first lunar month to come back for work after Tết.

On Thursday, at the fishing ports in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu southern province, many boat owners said they could not send boats out due to the shortage of fishermen.

Lê Thị Tư, an offshore fishing vessel owner in Phước Tỉnh Commune, Long Điền District, said in preparation for the New Year, she had invested over VNĐ1.2 billion in oil and fishing equipment, as well as paid advances to the workers going home for Tết.

She said many boats were expected to depart from the 6th to 12th of lunar January to start the new fishing season, but that would depend on the availability of fishermen.

Trần Long, a boat owner in Vũng Tàu City, said it was difficult to get workers because many of them came from northern and central provinces and went home for Tết for many days. Even the boat owners did not know exactly when they would return.

Nguyễn Thành Tuynh, chairman of Phước Tĩnh Commune People’s Committee, said it had 1,200 offshore fishing vessels with nearly 8,500 marine labourers, of which 90 per cent were from the northern and central provinces.

“Many labourers have not yet returned to work. There is a shortage of labourers to go offshore, but boat owners can still arrange for a trip. Instead of, say, 14 workers, a boat can have 10-12,” said Tuynh.