In response to the Prime Minister’s approval of a longer Tet (lunar New Year) holiday proposed by the Transport Ministry, most workers are happy, while many businesses in Ho Chi Minh City say the extended holidays will considerably affect their operations. At the regular monthly cabinet meeting held on Monday in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to extend the the upcoming Tet holiday to 9 days from 7 days, based on the proposal submitted by Transport Minister Dinh La Thang.    Accordingly, people will have nine days off from January 28 to February 5, 2014, which means two more days off before Tet,’s Eve which falls on January 31, 2014. The minister said the proposal is aimed at reducing the shortage of bus, train, and flight tickets as well as cutting down on traffic jams and accidents in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City during Tet. Thang added that people would have more time to plan on spending for Tet and this would prevent a sharp rise in food and good prices prior to Tet’s Eve as seen in previous years. Tuoi Tre has received many feedback and comments from laborers, readers, and businesses about the issue.

In general, most employees say they feel happy with the longer holiday.

Le Van Huan, a reader, wrote, “Workers feel happy as they will have more time to prepare for and enjoy Tet. Meanwhile, businesses feel worried, as they are afraid that the longer holidays will affect their operations. Meanwhile, Truong Phuc, another reader, wrote, “For us workers, the fact that we have two more days off during Tet is very welcomed.” Mai Van Nam, a worker in HCMC, said, “I am very satisfied with the proposal by the Transport Minister. Longer Tet holidays will help handle many issues, in which immigrant workers have more time to prepare to return home to celebrate Tet.” Giang Long, a reader, wrote, “I applaud the proposal by the Minister. If we have to work up to Tet, we don’t have enough time to prepare our return home to the countryside. Some workers at Freetrend Co Ltd in the Linh Trung II Export Processing Zone in Thu Duc District said the company offers them 10 days off for Tet each year. If they have two more days off this year, it’s even better. Businesses’ response A number of businesses have told Tuoi Tre that two more days off will affect their operations. Huynh Le Khanh, director of the Department of General Affairs of Nissei Electric Vietnam in the Linh Trung Industrial Park in HCMC, said the longer holidays will have a great effect on the company. “Our company set up its business plan and other plans related to the company’s operation at the beginning of the year. If workers have two more days off, we must re-schedule all these plans and the cost thereof,” Khanh said. Moreover, in the past years, the company’s workers annually took 10 days of before, during, and after Tet, three days longer than regulated by the State. Therefore, if this year they have two more days off, then their holiday period is too long, Khanh said. “Therefore, we are not satisfied with the longer Tet holidays.” Phan Van Hien , head of the Personnel Department of the Jc Int’l Vina in Thuan An District, southern Binh Duong Province, said that the ministry’s proposal was made too late compared with the notice of Tet holidays issued by many companies to their employees. As early as November, his company informed employees that they could take Tet holidays from January 26, 2014 to February 5 or 7, 2014. The schedule was formed based on mutual agreement between the employer and the employees, Hien said.Transporters: No impact Meanwhile, many transporting companies and coach stations said the additional days off are not likely to help reduce travel overload during Tet. The Saigon Railway Station began to sell Tet tickets on October 1, two months earlier than in 2012, and as an annual routine, most passengers chose to journey on the 25th or 26th day of the lunar December of 2013 (January 25 or 26, 2014). Therefore, the extra days off on the 28th and 29th days of the 12th lunar month of 2013 (January 28 or 29, 2014) will have no impact on already selected journeys, the station said. Similarly, the Eastern Coach Station said that travel by coaches during Tet will not be affected. Thuong Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Station, explained that as a common practice, most passengers usually opt to depart on January 25 and 26.  Truong Ngoc Thu, deputy director of private coach firm Phuong Trang, also said there are very few passengers who opt to depart on the two days before Tet, so the fact that people have two more days off on those days has no impact on the company’s operation.