Vietnam's cheap labor advantage doesn't come cheap

A textile worker at a Hong Kong-invested factory in Tay Ninh Province in southern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

Cheap labor has been Vietnam's competitive edge for years, but it has come at the expense of workers' sustainable wellbeing. They neither have job stability nor an adequate safety net.

Four years ago, 30-year-old Ly Mi Vang traveled 2,000 km from the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang to the southern industrial hub of Binh Duong, looking for a job.

Not educated, he could only get manual work. His firm, which manufactures sofas, has frequent overtime work, allowing him to earn over VND9 million ($377.12) a month. He sent VND5 million every month to his family back home.

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