Despite impressive economic performance, Vietnam started well behind most of its Asian neighbors, and growth did not begin until the end of the Cold War in 1989. As a result, average wages of around £230 a month are well below those in neighboring countries such as Thailand, and three-quarters of the 55 million-strong workforce work informally, with no security or social protection.
“There is a huge difference between big cities like Hanoi and the countryside,” says Nguyen Hac Giang, a Vietnamese scholar at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at the Joseph Ishak Institute in Singapore. “There is a glass ceiling for most low-skilled workers. Even if you work 14 hours a day, you won’t be able to save enough to build a house or start a family.”
This was how Phiong felt despite coming from Hai Phong, Vietnam’s third largest city.
Her sister Hien had reached Britain nine years ago, smuggled in a container. It cost her around £22,000, but she was able to recoup that money in two years by working long hours in kitchens and nail salons. Hien married a Vietnamese man who already had British citizenship and they had a daughter; all three are now British citizens.
Jobs were scarce in Haiphong after the pandemic, and at 38, Phuong wanted what her sister had in London: the chance to save money and start a family.
“She could survive in Vietnam, but she wanted a home, a better life, with more security,” Hien explains.
