Coming to Vietnam I had a lot of expectations, mostly revolving around what I would see and eat, none focused on how I would feel or how I would react to certain situations. After being here for a handful of days, I feel that I need to reevaluate how I experience new things. The Vietnamese have a very strong culture that they are eager to share with outsiders, but I find it hard to not see this culture with a judgmental eye. Analyzing this culture as something different rather then wrong is a difficult task that I am currently trying to master.
When I learned about the wages that the average factory workers makes, I was surprised! The average factory worker is paid on a monthly basis. Currently, workers make approximately $250 a month.This is equal to about $1 an hour. These workers work eight hours a day and normally seven days a week in highly labor intensive jobs.
As a communist nation, Vietnam does not have a set minimum wage like the one used in America. According to our guide, Vietnam does regulate and set a wage guide for office workers within some positions, but not factory workers. As an American, I see our minimum wage working mostly in favor of our lower class, not our middle working class. This has made me question, why does Vietnam regulate the wages of their middle class (office workers) and not their lower class (factory workers)? Does the government not want the lower class to have the opportunity to develop into the middle class? Does Vietnam have their own version of the “American Dream”? Or is ones placement within the class system merely decided for them?
I also think that this can be linked to the lack of growth and prosperity seen within the nation. There is no drive or incentive for these people to achieve or do more. In theory, communism sounds like it could work very effectively. In practice, it does not. It prevents people from pushing themselves and gaining a greater incentive.
So now I pose this question that i have been pondering to you all, how does Vietnam grow and further exceed these current shortcomings in order to develop and stabilize their economy?
Follow