Industrial workers to get better facilities

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan has asked HCM City's leaders to find land in industrial parks and export processing zones (EPZs) to build boarding houses, cultural houses for workers, and kindergartens for their children.

The city should set aside a land fund for building such facilities when zoning an industrial park and export processing zone, she said.

Last Friday, Doan visited the Tan Thuan IP to survey the working conditions and incomes of workers in the city's IPs and EPZs.

Vu Van Hoa, head of the city's Industrial Parks and Export Processing Zones Authority (HEPZA), said most workers had to live in boarding houses built by local households as the city has only had seven boarding-house complexes for 7,000 workers.

Another nine boarding house projects, with a total capacity of accommodating 14,000 workers, are under construction.

The city's 14 IPs and EPZs have attracted 998 companies with a total of 260,000 workers.

Vuong Phuoc Thien, chairman of the Trade Union of the city's IPs and EPZs, said salaries were not keeping up with the cost of living.

"To improve their incomes, workers have to work overtime and do additional work," Thien said.

Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the city's People Committee, said the monthly average income of workers at foreign-invested companies was VND2.8 – 3.2 million (US$130-$150) while it was VND2.7-3 million at domestic companies.

To help workers reduce their difficulties, the city's Party Committee, People's Committee and unions have implemented several measures, including encouraging landlords not to hike rents and selling price-stabilised goods to workers, Thuan said.

Doan said companies also had to bear responsibility for the low salaries.

Many companies continued to expand their production, but were not increasing salaries or bonuses.

Doan said the Government would review salary policies and adjust them to ensure a decent standard of living for workers.

On the same day, Doan also met with the city's Labour Federation to discuss the Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor (CEP Fund).

Since being set up in 1991, the fund has provided loans worth a total of VND7.9 trillion ($3.77 million) for 1.5 million poor households to conduct business.

Doan told the city's Party Committee and People's Committee to continue advancing capital for the fund so that it could expand and create favourable conditions for more poor people to access loans.

Outstanding women honoured for contributions

Photo: VOV

The organizing board also presented the “Women’s Creativeness” award to 60 organisations and 79 individuals who have had successful innovations in all fields.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, President of the Vietnamese Women’s Union, expressed her delight that 140 innovations were introduced in the first year of the “Vietnamese Women’s Creativeness Day” campaign.

This was the ninth year the “Vietnamese women” award has been granted to women’s organizations and individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in education, information and technology, and scientific research, as well as their active role in the society.

Storms threaten flimsy cottages on riverbanks, seaside

In several areas within Nha Trang City, hundreds of structurally unsound cottages along the seaside and riverbanks house people living in fear of being swept away during the rainy season.

Around 300 homes near Tran Phu Bridge, along the edge of Cai River, covering only 15-20 square metres and built a mere 1.5-2 metres above the water, accommodate families of up to five or six.

During the rainy season last year, seven homes in the area were swept away and 40 more damaged at a loss of more than VND1 billion (US$48,000).

According to Le Van Em, head of residential cluster 6, Vinh Phuoc ward, people are extremely afraid of flooding and rising tides.

"We hope the Government will be able to draw up a resettlement plan for us soon."

More than 70 households in Vinh Nguyen Ward also live in constant trepidation of rising water levels.

Vo Thi Xuan Le, a local resident, said that between October and December each year rough seas brought along destructive waves.

"Our homes have been hit on countless occasions. Some have even collapsed."

Despite dangerous living conditions, Le said that her family could not afford to move away and rent a house elsewhere. When threatened, they have to temporarily evacuate to the local People's Committee until conditions subside.

Because most cottage dwellers are poor, most fishing to earn their livings, few have enough money to build proper dwellings.

During each rainy season, even though the Vinh Nguyen Ward authorities sets up evacuation teams, which also assist in reinforcing homes, damage remains unavoidable.
Following heavy rain in 2009, nearly 30 cottages within the area had collapsed while nine came to ground in 2010.

"Every year we request the relocation of endangered households to safer areas, but no plan has yet been set in place," said Duong Quoc Viet, deputy chairman of the Vinh Nguyen People's Committee.

1 more arrested for Binh Thuan gold shop robbery

The Binh Thuan Province police have arrested a third man in connection with last Friday’s jewelry shop heist in which the robbers took away 1.2 kg of gold and injured the shop owner.

Huynh Quoc Thai, 23, of Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District had been arrested yesterday in the city, the police said.

Two of his alleged accomplices, 35-year-old Nguyen Mark Joseph aka Khanh, 35, a Vietnamese-American, and Nguyen Phuoc Hai, 34, of HCMC’s District 6 were arrested Friday.

The three have pleaded guilty to their crime and the police are hunting for the fourth member of the gang, Pham Quoc Bao, 33, of HCMC’s Thu Duc District.

At 7 pm October 14 Khanh, the alleged gang leader, drove Hai and the two others to Thu Thanh gold shop on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in Cho Lau town.

Khanh remained in the car while the three others went into the shop armed with a gun, an electric baton, a tear gas spray, a knife, and a hammer.

“One of them smashed the counter, another sprayed tear gas, and the other took all the gold items from the counter,” Dinh Thi Huong Thu, the shop owner told Tuoi Tre the day after the robbery.

On their way out, one of the robber slashed Thu’s father on the wrist.

Looking at the photos of Khanh, Hai, and Thai provided by Tuoi Tre, Thu identified Thai as the one who sprayed the gas and Hai as the one who broke the counter.

After being informed about the robbery, the police rushed to the scene, blocked all roads in the area, and chased after the robbers who went on National Highway 1A towards Phan Thiet, Colonel Nguyen Van Lam, head of the district police, said.

Khanh told the police that when their car had reached Phan Thanh Commune, he had asked Thai and Bao to get out with the gold and contact him later.

At Hong Thai Commune in Bac Binh District, he had asked Hai to get out and drove alone towards Phan Thiet.

The police remained on his tail until in Hong Thai he hit Nguyen Nam, a pedestrian, killing him on the spot, before crashing into a house.

The police arrested him on the spot while Hai was taken in later.

The police seized from Khanh and Hai four cartridges for a stun gun, two laptops, six smart phones, and several other items.

Despite the police’s efforts, angry residents managed to set the robbers’ car on fire for killing Nam, holding up traffic on National Highway 1A for more than two hours.

Southern province fights child marriage

The provincial authority of Long An has issued an instruction to fight against child marriage in the province.

The instruction was made after many marriages at an early age were reported in the province's remote areas and districts with industrial zones, such as Tan Hung, Duc Hue, Moc Hoa, Duc Hoa and Ben Luc.

According to Viet Nam law, girls over 18 years old and boys over 20 years old are allowed to marry.

The provincial authority said child marriages have affected women's reproductive health and children's health, as well as social order.

To prevent child marriage, Long An People's Committee has assigned the Department of Justice to better educate residents about marriage law.

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was asked to conduct a survey on causes of early marriages and to map out policies on vocational training for young people who may be involved in child marriages so they could more easily find jobs.

The Department of Education and Training was asked to introduce sex and reproductive health education and family planning into the high school curriculum.

The authorities at the commune level were asked to punish people involved in child marriages and issue birth certificates to children born from early marriages so that these babies could get health-insurance services.

Drunk man causes flight delay in city

A Vietnam Airlines flight numbered VN1600 was delayed three hours for safety checks after an unidentified man was struck by its propeller at Buon Ma Thuot airport in the eponymous central highlands city on Saturday evening.

According to the airport officials, when the airplane was preparing to fly to Hanoi, a man suddenly jumped over the airport barrier and run towards the right engine of the plane.

The man, who was later identified as 30-year-old Luong Van Man, was then sucked up directly towards the rotating fan blades.

However, he only sustained minor injuries after the captain timely turned off the engine and reported the incident to the airport security staff who later confirmed Man was drunk.

Commune urged to reduce poverty

President Truong Tan Sang yesterday visited the country's most disadvantaged commune of Xuan Dai in northern Phu Tho Province, on the occasion of the Month for the Poor.

While praising communal efforts in poverty reduction, he called on local leaders to keep up their efforts, which have already made poverty decline to 20 per cent from 50 per cent in the 2000-05 period.

However, an effective connection between farmers, scientists and entrepreneurs needed to be put in placed, Sang urged.

Poor households need better access to loans while farmers needed help in managing their crops, he added.

Located in Tan Son District, Xuan Dai Commune has more than 5,700 inhabitants belonging to Muong, Kinh and Dao ethnic groups.

Four out of 14 villages in the district still have no connection to power grids.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre