The attraction of the miner profession

Along with the strong development of mining infrastructure in the coal industry, the story of miners with an income of 300-400 million VND/year or more is becoming more and more popular. From 2023 to now, the Quang Ninh region has had more lists of miners with an income of 500-600 million VND/year and it is getting longer and longer. Although the work of miners is hard and tiring, high income and attractive benefits are still the reasons why this profession maintains its attraction to many workers across the country.

4 years ago, young man Hoang Van Toan (from Lao Cai) had a very hard time working all kinds of jobs to earn money to pay for his mother's hospital bills. Toan was born in 1994 in An village, Lang Giang commune, Van Ban district, Lao Cai province, in a family of 7 siblings and he was the youngest son in the family. At that time, Toan's family was one of the most difficult in the village. The difficult family circumstances and economic burden made Toan's dream of getting married and building a house very far away.

"The chance meeting with the teachers of the College of Coal and Minerals at that time changed my life. With guidance and encouragement, I decided to change my destiny by studying, laying the foundation for my future work. I went to Quang Ninh and studied mining, then was recruited directly to Uong Bi Coal Company - TKV to work, with an average income of over 25 million VND/month" - miner Hoang Van Toan shared.

Having a high-income job, in 2023, Toan got married and gave birth to his first son. Since then, the young miner has more motivation to work and produce. "We got married in 2023 and just had a child. Toan went to work and had a high income to send home for the two of us and the family to spend. Since he went to work in the mine, our family has had a lot less hardship and we have enough to eat and save" - Ms. Vi Thi Luong, wife of miner Hoang Van Toan confided.

The chance to enter the mining profession of Sung A Hong, a young man in Nam Ngam B village, Pu Nhi commune, Dien Bien Dong district, Dien Bien province, is also a story mentioned by many colleagues at Uong Bi Coal Company. When he was still in the village, Sung A Hong was introduced and encouraged by his friends who came back from working far away to go to Quang Ninh to learn the mining profession with the hope of changing his life. Seeing his friends living much better since working as miners, Hong decided to try his hand. At that time, he was only a 17 or 18 year old boy, an age not yet familiar with the worries of life.

After 5 years of studying and working, Sung A Hong has matured a lot, becoming a mature and skilled miner of Uong Bi Coal Company. What he is most satisfied with his choice in the past is the income of 20-25 million VND/month - quite high and stable. With the economy, Hong can take care of his parents in the countryside, get married, have children and bring the whole family to Quang Ninh to settle down permanently.

Hoang Van Toan (left) and Sung A Hong (right) in the furnace mirror of Uong Bi Coal Company - TKV.

The stories of Hoang Van Toan and Sung A Hong are just two of many typical examples showing the attraction of the miner profession to young workers across the country. From many different hometowns, thousands of workers from other provinces have chosen to come to Quang Ninh to start a business and stabilize their lives as miners. From young people who used to work for hire, with unstable jobs and low incomes in their hometowns, after 3-5 years of hard work, they have all become skilled miners of the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group, with high incomes from 15 to over 30 million VND/month, having enough to eat and save and having the conditions to improve their quality of life.

Young miners of Nui Beo Coal before their shift.

Every day, after the shouts of safety, the miners "march" underground. Working 8 hours a day, they return millions of tons of coal to the Fatherland. Compensating for the hardships of the miners after each hard shift is an increasingly prosperous economic life, with increasingly secure welfare. Many young people from different regions, by working as miners, have built houses, bought cars, and provided themselves with a stable life. Many have also chosen Quang Ninh as their second hometown to start a career and contribute.

Although the work is still difficult and arduous, although life has many choices, in recent years in Quang Ninh, the coal miner profession is still one of the attractive professions for many workers; especially workers in rural areas outside the province.

Increasingly modern and safe working conditions with mechanized machinery and equipment also help TKV mines attract better workers.

"The attractiveness of the coal miner profession does not come naturally. In addition to the preferential policies on salary and bonus, the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group has closely directed its member units to effectively implement all welfare benefits for workers. From eating, staying, traveling, working in a modern, mechanized environment to collective living conditions, cultural and sports activities, improving the quality of spiritual life for workers and laborers are all fully implemented by the units. It can be said that in the past 10 years, coal workers are one of the groups of workers who have enjoyed relatively full and complete welfare policies" - Mr. Pham Hong Hanh, Vice President of the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Union shared.

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