595 homes from the Trade Union's affection in Lao Cai

Realizing the dream of settling down to work in the highlands

Laughter echoed in the new house of Mr. Do Cao Toi's family - a worker at Hop Minh Brick Factory, Yen Bai Construction Materials Joint Stock Company. Few people know that just a few months ago, he and his wife still lived in a cramped, dilapidated house and were always worried every time there was a storm.

On the day of receiving the handover of the "Trade Union Shelter", that worker could not hide his emotion. "If we only rely on the income of both husband and wife, it would be very difficult to build a house like today. The companionship of the Trade Union and the help of colleagues, local authorities and relatives have added faith for the family to overcome difficulties. We will try to work harder to be worthy of the concern of the Trade Union organization" - Mr. Toi shared.

The story of Mr. Toi's family is one of more than 500 cases that the "Trade Union Shelter" program of the Lao Cai Provincial Labor Federation has nurtured the dream of settling down for more than a decade.

Identifying taking care of union members' lives as a key task, from 2016 to now, the Lao Cai Provincial Labor Federation has directed trade union levels to regularly review and select the right subjects to support housing construction and repair. The review and approval is carried out publicly and transparently, prioritizing union members in particularly difficult circumstances, without housing or seriously degraded houses, affected by natural disasters and fires.

Not only relying on the Trade Union Social Fund, many grassroots trade unions also proactively mobilize the joint efforts of businesses, local authorities, organizations, individuals and relatives of union members. Some places provide additional construction materials, some places mobilize union members to contribute working days to reduce costs, helping houses to be completed soon.

After more than 10 years of implementation, the program has mobilized more than 26.5 billion VND to care for union members and workers. Of which, 21.76 billion VND is for housing construction and repair activities, thereby supporting the construction of 499 new houses, repairing 96 houses, raising the total number of Trade Union Solidarity Houses supported to 595 houses.

Each newly built house is supported from 30-50 million VND, and repaired houses are supported from 15-25 million VND. In addition, the Fund also allocates billions of VND to support union members who suffer from labor accidents, serious illnesses, occupational diseases and care for children of union members in particularly difficult circumstances.

Behind those figures are hundreds of families who have a more stable life, many workers no longer have the worry of "rainy and windy", have more motivation to stick with businesses and feel secure in working and production.

Connecting sharing in the community

According to the Lao Cai Provincial Labor Federation, the greatest value that the program brings is not only new houses, but also the spread of solidarity and sharing in the community.

Many grassroots trade unions have had creative ways of connecting businesses to support more construction materials, mobilizing union members to contribute working days, coordinating with local authorities and mass organizations to donate more household items when handing over houses. Thanks to that, many families not only have new roofs but also have conditions to stabilize their lives from the early days of moving to new places.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Nhiem - Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Chairwoman of the Lao Cai Provincial Labor Federation - informed that after the Trade Union Social Fund is converted into the Lao Cai Provincial Trade Union Charity Fund, the unit will continue to innovate the method of mobilizing resources, improve the efficiency of fund management, and apply information technology in receiving, managing dossiers and approving support.

At the same time, the Trade Union will prioritize resources for union members in particularly difficult circumstances in remote and isolated areas, ethnic minority areas and areas frequently affected by natural disasters, helping more and more workers have the opportunity to settle down and stabilize their lives.

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