The average bonus for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) in Ho Chi Minh City is 12.7 million VND (nearly 500 USD) per person, up 3.3% from the previous year, the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs reported on December 23.
According to a survey with the participation of more than 1,500 businesses with over 310,400 workers in the southern metropolis, the highest bonus is over 1.9 billion VND at a foreign-invested enterprise.
According to Luong Thi Toi, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, companies in the electronics, information technology, food processing, software development, and commerce sectors are maintaining high bonus levels thanks to their business performance. In contrast, small businesses or those employing unskilled labourers tend to offer lower bonuses.
Notably, 25% of businesses reported difficulties in paying Tet bonuses due to a decline in orders, downsizing of operations, challenges in debt recovery, and the burden of loan interest. However, most companies remain committed to supporting their employees by striving to maintain Tet bonuses as stipulated in their bonus policies, collective labour agreements, and employment contracts, ensuring workers' rights are upheld.
In addition to Tet bonuses, 47% of businesses have implemented practical forms of support for employees such as giving Tet gifts, shopping vouchers, lucky money, organising shuttle buses to go home for Tet, organising year-end parties and visiting employees in difficult circumstances, arranging Tet celebrations for employees who are not able to return home during Tet, Toi said./.
