Warm Tet for poor workers

A group of workers in the Tan Thuan processing zone are happy to get tickets to return home for Tet. Photo: Tuoi tre

With an average income of between VND 1.5-1.8 million per month in 2009, workers who leave their homeland to work in Ho Chi Minh City will find it difficult to afford transport fees for returning home to enjoy Tet with their families if joint efforts are not made from agencies.

Days before Tet, members from the fund to support the city workers are busy contacting agencies and enterprises to encourage subsidizing of transport fees for workers to return home for Tet.

Saigon Giaiphong newspaper reported that 5,500 transport tickets supported by labour unions and labour employers from industrial and processing zones in the city and 500 tickets from the program “Tickets of gratitude” would allow many workers to go home for Tet. The City Federation of Labour gave presents to 5,500 disadvantaged workers worth VND 150,000-300,000 each.

According to Tuoitre newspaper, before the Lunar New Year, the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labour has also given 4,126 transport tickets to workers who are working in the Tan Thuan and Linh Trung processing zones, and the Tan Binh and Tan Tao industrial zones, to help disadvantaged ones return home to welcome Tet.

This is the fourth year the giving of transport tickets to workers has been conducted. This year, the program has been carried out with a total capital of VND 2.7 billion, including 50% of the capital supported by enterprises in industrial and processing zones.

Apart from transport tickets, each worker is given one present worth VND 100,000.