Living in confinement and suffocation because of... salary
Receiving a "ting, ting" message announcing his salary in his account, Mr. Dang Hoang Dung, 39 years old, in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, was a little excited because he received 8.9 million VND this month, thanks to an additional birthday gift of 200,000 VND.
However, just 2 hours later, his account was automatically deducted 4.7 million VND to pay for the social housing apartment.
A man expressed his "helplessness because of money" at a job program in Ho Chi Minh City (Illustration photo: HN).
Working as a warehouse employee at a consumer goods distribution company, after 4 years of working, Mr. Dung's salary increased from 6 million to 8.2 million VND, plus a monthly allowance of 500,000 VND.
In months when there are many products, he works overtime or helps other departments to film clips and introduce products, he gets an additional "compensation" of 1 - 1.5 million VND. However, this income has now become a distant dream as orders decrease and revenue is low.
In the family, Mr. Dung is responsible for paying the bank installments for the social housing apartment, currently paying 4.7 million VND/month. Last year, his wife "sent" him an additional payment for the house insurance of more than 13 million VND/year.
Every month, after deducting mandatory expenses, Mr. Dung only has more than 2 million VND left for all shopping needs, gas, weddings or expenses for his children's education.
The father of two bitterly recounted that he had worked in many places, from industrial zones to service companies. There were also times when he received a better salary than he does now, but the job was not suitable.
He also started a business with his friends, invested in this and that but failed, and was also in debt. With the mentality of "birds afraid of curved branches", he has long been "satisfied" with a low-paying job.
There was a time when he drove a motorbike taxi but had an accident and had to quit. When he went to deliver goods for his wife who sells online, the situation was difficult, orders were getting worse and worse... Moreover, if he worked outside, he wouldn't be able to be there to help his children with their studies.
The current job and environment suit his personality and interests, and are close to home, making it convenient for him to take his children to school. Mr. Dung is diligent, hardworking, honest, and is loved by his boss and colleagues, but the benefits are only at that level.
Sometimes he thinks that at his age, people are already old, and then he hears young graduates with salaries of "thousands" of dollars. Mr. Dung feels sad, helpless, and feels incompetent. Low salary, no opportunities, he says his future is dark.
Family life also became cramped and suffocating due to lack of money. When buying anything for their children, the couple had to calculate every little thing. The children wanted to go to this or that gifted class but they had to do it because... the parents had no money. Whenever there was a happy occasion or the wife had to pay for extra classes for the children, the husband had to borrow money.
"It's been 9 years since I had my child, and my family hasn't traveled outside the city. Where do we get the money to go?" the father said.
"Low income trap"
Working in the publishing industry, Mr. Tran Duc T., 41 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City, said that his total income is less than 10 million VND. His family rents a house, which costs several million VND each month, so the remaining expenses must always be carefully calculated or else they will run out.
Every month, he gives his wife 7.5 million VND, the rest is just enough for gas money, occasional lunches out, or a few other miscellaneous expenses.
"The other day my daughter broke a few teeth and had to have them fixed. My husband and I split the cost by 2.5 million VND each, so I had to borrow money from my colleagues. Every month, I run out of money to fix and maintain my car," said Mr. T., fed up with the situation of "making do with do".
"If the salary is low, find a job with a higher salary", that basic theory is not simple for this man. Many times he hesitated and did not want to leave the place he was attached to. At the beginning of this year, when he was determined to move up, the general situation was very difficult to find a job, his age was not easy to compete.
"I looked at a few places but the starting salary was lower than my current position. In this field, the salary is fixed and it's hard to change, unless you become a boss," said Mr. T.
The no longer young father frankly said that he often falls into poverty and heavy psychological pressure, especially at the end of summer, when his children are preparing to enter the new school year, with a series of school expenses waiting. Not to mention, his parents in the countryside said that they would soon need to contribute 10 million VND to build a tomb, Mr. T. could not help but feel stressed.
There are many people who are called "family breadwinners" who are struggling to make ends meet with low salaries like Mr. Dung and Mr. T. In fact, many industries and fields where workers have worked for many years are also forced to work with low salaries, especially compared to the constantly escalating cost of living.
Along with that are the burdens, worries and psychological pressure of "men building the house" for many people.
Recent statistics on the average income of Vietnamese workers are around 7 million VND/month (more than 300 USD), much lower than in the region (1,992 USD) and the world (2,114 USD).
Cheap labor is no longer an advantage in the current market that requires high-quality, highly-skilled human resources. The "low-income trap" is also a major challenge for tens of millions of workers today.
According to the labor and employment situation report for the second quarter of 2023 from the General Statistics Office, the average monthly income of workers in the second quarter of 2023 was 7.0 million VND, a decrease of 79 thousand VND compared to the first quarter of 2023 and an increase of 355 thousand VND compared to the same period in 2022.
The average monthly income of male workers is 1.37 times higher than that of female workers (8.0 million VND compared to 5.8 million VND). The average income of workers in urban areas is 1.40 times higher than that of rural areas (8.5 million VND compared to 6.1 million VND).
Overall, the average income of workers increased, but the income growth rate decreased by nearly half compared to the growth rate in the second quarter of 2022.
Specifically, the average income growth rate of workers in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 was 5.4%, while the average income growth rate in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 was 8.9%).
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