Ordering a pair of banh chung and buying an extra kilo of pork roll, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc, a worker at a mechanical factory in Taiwan, joined her colleagues for a New Year's party but couldn't be happy because she missed her children back home.
"You're wearing new clothes, so ask grandma to take a photo from afar for me to see," Ngoc said to her 4-year-old son during a video call home in Hai Duong. After talking for a while, she turned away, trying not to let her son see her crying. This is the third Tet the 37-year-old mother has spent away from her son.
Nearly three years ago, she spent 150 million VND on a brokerage company to handle the labor export procedures, for a period of three years. She was accepted to work at a factory specializing in turning screws in Taichung. The basic salary is nearly 230,000 NTD (equivalent to more than 17 million VND) per month.
"It was too difficult in the countryside, I accepted being away from my one-year-old child to go to work, but things did not go as expected," Ngoc said. She came to Taiwan right when Covid-19 broke out, then the economic recession, so the factory did not have many orders. She did not get much overtime, so for most of the time she only had a basic salary.
Unable to work extra hours at the factory, she applied to work as a waitress at restaurants with the determination to send 30,000 NTD (nearly 23 million VND) back to Vietnam each month.
Ms. Ngoc (red shirt, left) with her colleagues at the company on New Year's Day. Photo: An Phuong
During the Lunar New Year, Ms. Ngoc had 7 days off. The factory has nearly 30 workers, most of whom are Vietnamese. She and some colleagues far from home spent the first two days of the year resting, visiting pagodas to pray for peace in the new year, and ending with a party. She ordered a pair of banh chung for over 300,000 VND, and bought an extra kilo of ham for the party. Her colleagues bought the main dishes, then calculated the total and divided the cost per person.
The female worker decided to celebrate Tet for only two days and then go to work to earn extra income. During Tet, many restaurants need to hire servers and the salary is also better, so she sees this as an opportunity to earn extra income.
Working hard while abroad and saving up to return to Vietnam soon to celebrate Tet is also the wish of Phan Chi Thanh, 30 years old, who has celebrated the New Year in Japan for 5 consecutive years.
More than 7 years ago, Thanh borrowed 200 million VND to go to Japan as a trainee. He applied for a construction job, working in a rural area, so his monthly income was not high. After the three-year term ended, Thanh extended it for another two years. The money he saved was enough to pay off the debt and build a house. Two months ago, Thanh continued to go to Japan as a specific skill. His wife also just went, working as a nurse at a nursing home.
"This year, we celebrate Tet far from home, but it's more fun because my wife is with us," Thanh said. Because Japan no longer celebrates the New Year according to the lunar calendar, businesses do not give workers time off like Taiwan. Workers have to arrange their own time to meet each other. This year, the first and second days of Tet fall on Saturday and Sunday, so Thanh and his wife and friends gathered to celebrate and call home.
Mr. Phan Chi Thanh (wearing glasses, third from right) and friends travel to Japan in early 2024. Photo: An Phuong
Meanwhile, for Bui Thi Diem Ngoc, 27, a food intern, this year's Tet is the first time she is away from her family. "I decided to work to earn money so I didn't go home, but I still couldn't help but feel sad when someone arranged a flight back to Vietnam," Diem said. These days, the temperature in Japan is dropping. The cold weather makes the young girl miss her family even more.
The girl from Vinh Long said she really wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve and have a party on New Year's Day to ease her homesickness, but the whole office couldn't arrange the time. The company worked two shifts, some of them worked night shifts, so she told herself to skip Tet.
According to the Department of Overseas Labor (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs), as of the end of October last year, Vietnam had about 650,000 workers working in 40 countries and territories around the world. Of these, Japan had about 300,000 people, accounting for over 46%, Taiwan ranked second with about 250,000 people, and some countries like South Korea had about 50,000 people.
Mr. Phan Viet Anh, a former intern and author of the book I Go to Japan , said that because Japan has abolished the Lunar New Year, workers do not have days off. However, some business owners who employ Vietnamese staff still give their workers 1-2 days off or flexibly allow workers to use their annual leave to celebrate the New Year.
With many years of consulting and sending workers to work abroad, Viet Anh believes that most workers who have been interns for three years will choose to stay in Japan during Tet to save money. Only a few save 10 days of leave, do not take any days off, spend frugally all year, and save up some money before daring to return home for Tet.
"Actually, bosses don't like workers to go home for Tet," Viet Anh said. Many factories in Japan are more than half Vietnamese, so if just 1-2 people ask for leave to go home, it will cause those who stay to want to "go home", affecting work productivity.
From the company sending workers to work abroad, Mr. Vo Anh Tuan, Director of Haindeco Saigon Company, said that the psychology of interns often fluctuates at the end of the year. The reason is seeing relatives and friends in the hometown posting happy New Year photos on social networks. Meanwhile, during the Lunar New Year, Japan is often cold, many new friends are not used to it so they feel sad and miss their family more.
According to Mr. Tuan, during their time working in Japan, interns usually have three long holidays lasting one week, including Golden Week in April, Obon in August and New Year. Depending on some industries such as service, hotel and restaurant, the time off will be flexible due to work needs.
"Most workers have decided to work to earn money, so they often put aside the joy of Tet. Very few of them come home for Tet in three years of working," said Mr. Tuan. However, the company will proactively visit and send New Year messages to new workers to encourage them.
Having worked as an intern in Japan for three years before coming to Taiwan, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc concluded that the place where Tet is celebrated with great joy is the place where overseas workers are sadder. The Japanese consider Tet as a normal day, so she does not feel out of place, while in Taiwan, it is the opposite. "I have to work hard to return to Vietnam soon, to be with my children to truly have Tet," the female worker said.
Le Tuyet
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