After a call with her mother, Ms. Le My Ngan, a

30-year-old worker in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City, looked sad. From her hometown, Ngan's mother constantly asks her daughter when she is getting married, which she does not want to talk about.

Ngan said: “My mother used to say, in my hometown, my friends of the same age have settled down and have children. As I'm still single, she keeps calling me to talk about marriage."

“However, at this moment, I really don't have the mind to think about love and marriage. Workers like me have low wages, and live in cramped accommodation… The more I think about getting married, the more scared I am,” she said.

Ms. Ngan left her hometown to Ho Chi Minh City to work in an industrial park at the age of 20. At her younger age, she dreamed of having a small family of her own. But seeing the poor life of her parents in the countryside, she decided to work hard to save money to help her parents first.

For the past 10 years, she has been stuck in a circle of going to work in the morning, returning in the afternoon, and working overtime at night. Her youth has passed quickly. Looking back, she feels that she is too old to be in love and get married.

Many female workers, especially garment workers, are in the same situation as Ms. Ngan. They say that they are afraid of love and do not want or no longer intend to get married. Most of them think they do not have time to contact and meet men. Even if they have a boyfriend, they do not dare get married because they are pressured from the burden of daily life.

Ms. Bui Mai, 28, a worker in Pou Yuen Industrial Park, said: “Who doesn't want to get married and have children. Unfortunately, I spend almost all of what I earn each month, except for a little money I send back home to my parents."

“If we get married, we will have to stay in a rented room. In such a cramped, inconvenient place not only me but my children will suffer. Thinking about that, I don't care about getting married and having children anymore," she added.

This situation is clearly shown through a recent survey of the lives of female workers in the textile industry by the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation and the Ho Chi Minh City National University Trade Union.

According to the survey, married female workers accounted for 61.4%, unmarried living alone made up 28.8%, and 8.1%  were divorced or separated.

Most female workers did not spend time outside working hours for social relationships. Instead, they spent this time doing housework (67.7%); watching television (46.3%); and sleeping (41.7%). In particular, in this survey, "No time for love" is the answer chosen by most female workers.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of the Social Life Research Institute, said the reason for this situation is the characteristics of their job, in which female workers do not have opportunity to interact with men.

"Another important reason is that female workers are under pressure of low income, and family burden. Studies show that female workers are especially interested in their parents' family life,” he said.

“They go to work to support themselves and send money to take care of their parents in the countryside. Without a good income, they tend to hesitate to get married,” he added.

In this situation, Ms. Le Thi Kim Thuy, vice chair of the HCM City Confederation of Labor, suggested that employers and related social organizations work together to build clubs on making friends, pre-marriage, and create conditions for female workers to have time to exchange and find a life partner.

She also recommended businesses and relevant bodies to create conditions for workers to improve their living conditions and to buy or rent social housing.

Dr. Loc worries that in the future, this will affect the problem of aging population and birth rate. He said that there should be more favorable policies for female workers to support and protect their legitimate interests.

Nguyen Thao