In addition to developing investment attraction, industry, services, and infrastructure, Binh Duong pays special attention to taking care of policy families, poor households, and performing well job creation. As a result, the average income of citizens has continuously increased year by year.
Taking care of policy families is always a special concern of the provincial leadership. In photo: Nguyen Loc Ha, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (third, from the right), visits and gives gifts to a policy family in Tuong Binh Hiep Ward, Thu Dau Mot City on occasion New Year 2021.
Eliminating poor households, taking care of policy families
Over the past years, Binh Duong has performed well in poverty reduction through a combination of many solutions, such as: Prioritizing and concentrating resource investment in districts having a high percentage of poor households, making investment in infrastructure and other welfare projects for communes in poor areas; implementing preferential policies for poor and near-poor households, such as offering Social Policy Bank loans, grants for health insurance, tuition exemption and reduction, and other contributions. In addition, the province implemented a reservation policy for households that have escaped poverty; mobilised businesses and benefactors to build and donate houses, giving gifts, free medical examination and treatment, and expanded livelihood models for the poor....
From these specific and practical regimes, the rate of poor households in the province decreased rapidly. Since 1997, Binh Duong has had about 46,000 households escaping poverty and the province has raised the poverty line nine times higher than the national poverty line. In the 2016-2020 period, the province applied a multi-dimensional poverty line, raising incomes about 1.5 times higher than the national income poverty line. At present, Binh Duong is the only province that no longer has poor households according to national standards.
Le Minh Quoc Cuong, Director of Provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said: “Binh Duong increase income compared to the national poverty line, this also means that the average income of people across the province is higher than that of other provinces and cities. In order to prevent households from falling back into poverty, grassroots officials regularly paid attention to and followed up with poor households to promptly offer helps, such as facilitating loans for production, job creation, and stable income. This work is done on a regular basis.”
In addition, the province pays special attention to taking care of policy families. The province called for, concentrated many funds and sources to build and repair subsidies houses, give savings books and solidarity houses to policy beneficiaries in the province. Social policies taking care of policy and social groups are concerned and well implemented by all levels, branches and mass organizations.
To create jobs, increase income
In addition to gathering resources on taking good care of the lives of poor households and policy families, helping them to have houses and stabilize their lives, the province has been also paying special attention to creating employment for people to increase income. On average, the province creates new jobs for tens of thousands of local workers every year with an average income of 8-10 million VND/person/month. For laborers in rural areas, when they are too old to enter factories to work as workers, they will be provided with loans by the local government to do small and retail businesses, or grow crops, raise livestock or participate in short-term vocational training courses, such as barber, ornamental plants, cookery, makeup...
From these vocational classes, many people have become owners of orchards or shops that bring in billions of VND every year. There are also many young people who soon became good chefs for local restaurants and earns a very high income. For example, Le Chien Cong lives in Long Hoa commune, Dau Tieng district. Seven years ago, when Dau Tieng district informed about the opening of a new cookery course, Cong signed up because he did not have a stable career at that time. After this class, he applied to a few small restaurants with a basic salary of 7-8 million VND/month. Working while learning, improving his skills for many years, now he becomes the main chef and manager of a large restaurant in Long Tan commune with a monthly salary of more than 20 million VND.
For young people in big cities like Thu Dau Mot city, Di An city, Thuan An city, Ben Cat town, if they have a high level of education, there will be many job opportunities opened up when they participate in vocational schools, where supply labor sources for many factories and companies across the province, or example, Vietnamese - Korean Intermediate; Vietnam - Singapore Vocational College; Dong An Vocational College... Every year, these institutions train and supply thousands of highly skilled workers to industrial zones and clusters.
Le Quang Son, Dean of Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dong An Vocational College, said: “In order to improve the income of workers, over the years, we strive to improve skills of students. Once students graduate with good professional capacity, they will definitely be recruited and paid well, businesses even come to recruit at the school. Currently, 80% our lecturers have master's degrees. The college is constantly changing the way of teaching and learning in order to reduce theory, increase practice; invests in modern machines so that students have the opportunity to familiarize with the reality. When they graduated from school and were admitted to big companies, they were not baffled and are able to catch up with the pace very quickly.
It can be said that, from taking good care of policy families, heightening the income of poor households, not letting them fall back into poverty, and solving jobs well, Binh Duong has been improving the living standards of the whole society. Thereby, the material, cultural and spiritual lives of the people have been raised markedly. People increasingly agree and support the building of a more civilized and modernized Binh Duong province.
Reported by Quang Tam - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
