Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

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Participatory poverty monitoring in rural communities in Viet Nam 96 BOX 5.3. Reasons for not working away from home in Ban Lien commune (Bac Ha, Lao Cai) Few people of the Tay and H’Mong ethnic groups work as migrant workers for the following reasons: 1. Limited social relations, no broker. “There are no job brokers that we know so nobody can go anywhere. There are young people who want to go, but their parents do not want to lose children”. 2. No education, low skill. “The people in the town understand things quickly. We learn more slowly. In Ban Lien commune, there nobody has the skills to work in construction, so we just work as porters, carrying cement and bricks.” 3. Afraid of going too far. “It’s far from here to town. Women never go to the provincial centres. We don’t even have money for a bus ticket. It is said that it’s getting more expensive.” 4. Afraid of taking risks. “A few years ago some men working on construction sites were not paid for their labour. I’ve never seen anybody get rich after working away from home away.” 5. No tradition of migrant labour. “Here people are not used to working away from home. Our ancestors lived here. We miss home, and it will be a pity if our parents or children get ill and we can’t be around. Wives can’t handle that.” Gender impacts of working away from home Remittances are a significant contribution to the rural economy. Many women send money home to cover family daily spending, house repair and upgrade and children’s education. In Cu Hue - Dak Lak, some families with people working away from home have escaped poverty. Low levels of migration mean mountainous ethnic minority areas receive few remittances. Wages of low skilled (mainly female) migrants in urban areas have not risen in line with living costs in the last 2-3 years. Increasing numbers of female migrants from Duc Huong - Ha Tinh and Thuan Hoa - Tra Vinh are working as sales assistants or house maids because they don’t have to pay for accommodation and meals, and wages are the same as low skilled workers (Table 5.2) TABLE 5.2. Comparison between regular and seasonal labour of people working away from home in Duc Huong (Ha Tinh) and Thuan Hoa (Cau Ngang, Tra Vinh), 2011. Regular worker Seasonal worker Type of work Skilled worker, graduate working in companies and organizations. Low skilled workers (garment, footwear, assembling, etc.) Sales support, house maids Builders, mason, coffee harvest, cashew nut picking, weeding, harvesting corn, etc. Place of work Urban Urban Urban Rural Target groups Equal number of men and women More women than men Women More men than women
Five-year Synthesis Report Part 2: Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam Duration of work 12 months/year 12 months/year 10-12 months/year Income Accommodation Economic contribution 5 -7 million VND/month on average Rent a house, meal on their own Saving of 2 - 3 million VND/ month 2.5 - 3.5 million VND/month on average Rent a house, meal on their own Little saving, below 1 million VND/month, many don’t have savings. 2.5 - 3 million VND/ month on average Covered by employer Saving of 2 - 3 million VND/month 3-4 months/year 2.5 - 3 million VND/month on average Covered by employer Saving of 2 - 3 million VND/ month 97 Women working away from home often save and remit more than men. Women often save and spend less on social networking than men. Men working away from home often spend more money on smoking, alcohol, coffee and networking. Working away from home can reduce domestic violence. Migrant work reduces the causes of domestic violence (such as gender biases, paternalism, economic difficulties, lack of social and legal understanding). Working away from home provides women with independence, so they have a greater role in the household, increasing their voice and position. Working away from home can also be a solution for victims of domestic violence. Working away from home creates more work for those who stay at home, and breaks the traditional gender division of labour. When men work away from home, women do tasks traditionally undertaken by men. Similarly, when women work away from home men do housework and take care of children. In some low-land villages in Thanh Xuong - Dien Bien and Cu Hue - Dak Lak, young people are working away from home, leading to shortage of labour during harvest season, so some people from neighbouring villages come to work. The “re-division of labour” between men and women and the lack of a young workforce has affected local labour structures. At Duc Huong - Ha Tinh and Thuan Hoa - Tra Vinh, the middle aged do farm and social work as the young tend to seek work elsewhere. The elderly have less support than before, and often have to look after grandchildren. In Duc Huong - Ha Tinh, many women attend village meetings (70% or more) because men are working away from home. In Thuan Hoa - Tra Vinh, in high harvest season, it is difficult to find labourers, so wages are often double the normal rate. Risks faced by migrant workers In ethnic minority mountainous areas, migrant workers face a number of risks. As migrant workers from ethnic minority communities don’t have access to an extensive social network or information as to where to find employment many depend on unknown employment brokers. As a result they often work in unsafe conditions, some have been cheated of their wages, others “sold” for work in brothels and even to China, and others work illegally (logging, for example). Of those able to return home, some have had to pay a “ransom”. Such experiences naturally discourages others from migrating in search of work. People working away from home in the informal sector do not have access to social security. Workers in the informal sector have no contracts, and do not have access to social insurance or health insurance. Migrants have limited support, and often
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PARTICIPATORY POVERTY MONITORING IN
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PREFACE 1 7 In early 2007, Viet Nam
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ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS 10 ActionAi
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12 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The last five
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14 and improve monitoring and evalu
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16 TABLE 1. The monitoring points C
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18 transparency, and accountability
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20 TABLE 2. Characteristics of the
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Part 1 Poverty Trends and Key Theme
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Participatory poverty monitoring in
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Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

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