Due to the specificity of their work or their own circumstances, many workers have gone to work since the 1st of Tet – the day when many people and their families go to wish their relatives, relatives and friends for Tet.
“Seeing people dressed well, the whole family laughing and having fun, going to celebrate Tet, while I was wearing workwear to clean up the street on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I felt a little sorry.
But because of the job, because the street is clean, I accept and try to complete my job well,” – Ms. Nguyen Thi Xoan – environmental sanitation worker in Bac Giang city shared with a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper. on the morning of the first day of Tet.
This female janitor said that since she started working as an environmental sanitation worker (from August 2009 to now), she has never been at home to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her family.
Every year, she has to clean up trash during the transition from the old year to the new year, which means she has to spend New Year’s Eve on the street. This is also the time when the amount of garbage discharged by people is more than usual, making it even harder for her and her colleagues.
“Before going to work the shift last night, my sisters and I organized our own cooking. If it’s cold, people are less likely to go out, and the amount of garbage is less, we can rest earlier – just after New Year’s Eve. But this year, it’s warm, people are out on the street more, the amount of garbage is more, the leaves are falling more, so it took me until 2 am on the first day of the Lunar New Year to finish my work,” said Xoan.
When she got home, she didn’t have time to eat or drink, she just had time to shower, clean and then go to bed right away to start a new shift the next morning.
At 9 am on the first day of the Lunar New Year, she and her working “team” (including the driver and another janitor) continued to work. Her shift ends at 4pm. Thus, almost all day on the 1st day of the New Year, Ms. Xoan had to stay on the street, not having time to wish her parents, brothers and relatives New Year’s greetings.
“My husband and children are used to the fact that I have to go to work on New Year’s Eve, on the 1st of the Lunar New Year, so no one complains anymore,” said the 44-year-old female worker this year.
In addition to cases like Ms. Xoan having to do due to the specifics of her job, there are also many workers who have started working since the 1st of Tet.
At a street corner on Duong Dinh Nghe street (Cau Giay district, Hanoi), on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Mrs. Linh used a motorbike to carry a canvas back to cover her inn. The canvas was requested by her at a construction site.
Ms. Linh said that she worked as a waste collector. “My hometown is in Thai Binh, my children are also in the countryside, but due to circumstances, I have not returned to my hometown to celebrate Tet for many years,” Linh said.
“I hope a new year without sickness, good health, earn more money than last year to take care of a better life” – Ms. Linh shared.
On the streets of Hanoi on the first day of the Lunar New Year, although not as busy as usual, we still see taxi drivers, delivery staff… working and serving customers. For them, the new working year has started right from the 1st day of Tet.