In order to care for and help workers having difficult circumstances celebrate the 2024 Lunar New Year, Trade Unions at all levels in the province plan to have dozens of "Trade Union Tet Markets" to provide Tet goods at preferential prices for workers. Enterprises supplying goods and accompanying the markets have prepared a large amount of goods to serve union members and workers in industrial zones and clusters in the province.
A large number of workers shop at the opening session of Trade Union Tet Market 2024 held at Dong An Industrial Park.
Diverse products
In 2023, as understanding the situation of businesses facing difficulties in production and business, making the lives of many workers difficult, trade unions at all levels in the province proactively opened "Trade Union Tet Market" sessions earlier in order to promptly support employees in purchasing products and goods for Tet holidays that are good in price and quality. There is about a month left until the Lunar New Year holidays, but Binh Duong Industrial Parks’ Trade Union has pioneered this activity by consecutively opening two markets at Dong An Industrial Park and Provincial Labor Cultural Center. It is expected that on January 13, this unit will continue to open a third market session in Dai Dang Industrial Park.
Tran Ngoc Van, Vice Chairman of Binh Duong Industrial Parks’ Trade Union shared: “This year is an extremely tough year for businesses and workers in general. Understanding that situation, we want to bring the Tet atmosphere to employees early with gifts that are both of good quality but at a price suitable to workers' income. Through that, we hope to share some of the difficulties with employees. Market days are distributed evenly, not concentrated in one cluster so that all employees can participate and benefit from this program."
In general, the 2024 Trade Union Tet Market sessions have been carefully prepared, so each market session has hundreds of products to serve workers. Besides essential goods such as rice, fish sauce, cooking oil, jam, beverages etc., the markets also provide quality, low-cost consumer products, such as electric kettles, clothes, towels, shoes... Product prices are discounted from 10% to 40%/product. Nguyen Thu Ha, a worker at Thong Dung Shoes Company (Thuan An City) said: “A bottle of branded fish sauce, if I buy it at a grocery store for nearly 20,000 VND/bottle, will sell at this market for 50,000 VND/5 bottles. Or an electric kettle costs 120,000 VND, but the company gives you a 50,000 VND discount coupon to buy other products. Many products with such deep discounts will help workers save money and have the conditions to celebrate Tet more fully."
Tran Hoat Viet, Sales Director of Long Phu Agri Joint Stock Company, a companion of this program, said: “Our company has accompanied Provincial Labor Federation for the past two years with one goal that is to bring products with 5%- to 40%-discounted prices to serve workers and union members. No matter how much employees buy, our company has enough goods to meet their demands, no need to worry about shortages. Our company will continue to accompany workers in the next market sessions."
Need information support for employees
According to Provincial Labor Federation, in the series of "Trade Union Tet Market" combined with "Tet Reunion" organized by trade unions at all levels, it is expected that hundreds of thousands of union members and workers will participate in these markets. Thereby, trade unions at all levels have given discount vouchers to workers having difficult circumstances so that they can buy goods right at the markets on opening day. For example, after two opening sessions, Binh Duong Industrial Parks’ Trade Union presented thousands of free goods purchases to employees, worth 100,000 VND/voucher and more than 2,000 “zero-Dong” gifts to union members, workers having difficult circumstances.
The "Trade Union Tet Market" sessions are mainly opened to take care of union members and workers at the end of the year and each market session lasts 2-3 days, is held mainly on weekends so that workers have time to go shopping. However, businesses supplying products at the markets believe that workers lack information about the markets. Huynh Thanh Tuoi, Sales Department of Hoa Danh International Joint Stock Company, a provider of frozen seafood products, shared that while the first market opened in Dong An Industrial Park, the number of products sold by businesses was quite well, the second market session at Provincial Labor Cultural Center, the number of products sold was very low, because there were few workers coming to the market.
“There are many reasons, it could be that it's not yet payday, so workers don't have money to shop yet. It is also possible that at the end of the year, there is a lot of work and workers work overtime a lot. But in my opinion, there is another reason: lack of information about the market. Trade unions at all levels need to proactively disseminate information to all employees about the date, time, and location before the fairs take place, so that employees can know about this. It is necessary to post information about activities on Facebook, Zalo, and grassroots trade union groups so that workers can know more about this," Tuoi said.
According to Provincial Labor Federation, in the series of "Trade Union Tet Market" combined with "Tet Reunion" organized by trade unions at all levels, it is expected that hundreds of thousands of union members and workers will participate in these markets. Thereby, trade unions at all levels have given discount vouchers to workers having difficult circumstances so that they can buy goods right at the markets on opening day.
Reported by Quang Tam - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
