Many Nghe An businesses closed, workers laid off due to Covid-19
(Baonghean.vn) - Due to the complicated developments of the epidemic, businesses in Nghe An have been affected to some extent. In order to maintain operations, many businesses have been forced to extend working hours, slow down production, and even cut staff and temporarily lay off workers.
MANY BUSINESSES CLOSED, WORKERS LACK JOBS
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| Currently, some businesses have had to close due to "blocked" output, while others are operating at a standstill due to dependence on imported raw materials. Therefore, businesses are forced to temporarily lay off workers or reduce their work, making workers' incomes quite unstable during this epidemic period. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Since February 28, the artificial wood panel company in Nam Cam Industrial Park has had to close down and stop production. The reason is that the company's management, mainly Chinese, has not returned to manage production after the Lunar New Year holiday due to the epidemic. Meanwhile, the wooden panel products are piled up in the warehouse and cannot be sold, so the company has had to close down. As a result, the company's 150 workers, mainly from Nghe An, have had to temporarily stop working.
Mr. Vo Van Dai, a worker at the company, said: “When I quit my job, the company still supports me with social insurance, health insurance and 80% of my salary. However, it is impossible to ensure a living with that level of subsidy, while finding a replacement job at the present time is not easy. During this time, I often go back to my hometown to buy local food to sell to workers to make ends meet.”
Not only the wood panel company but many other companies that depend on raw materials from abroad have had to close or cut production lines. Workers only receive basic salaries, no more overtime, no more bonuses.
The Policy and Law Department of the Provincial Labor Federation said that as of March 20, many businesses in the province had to slow down production due to dependence on input materials, and their products could not be exported. Therefore, many companies temporarily closed their operations, and workers were forced to take temporary leave. If the epidemic situation persists, the number of workers who have to take leave will certainly increase.
Many workers in the tourism sector (tour guides, hotel staff, restaurant staff) despite having signed labor contracts and paying social insurance are currently struggling because they have no jobs. Ms. Nguyen Kim Anh, a tour guide for a travel agency in Vinh, said: "All tours have been canceled so we are "unemployed". To support the employees, the company has met to discuss solutions such as supporting employees with insurance payments and giving them a portion of their salary in advance to spend and then offset it later; opening on-site training classes to improve their skills...".
RATE OF WORKERS COMPLETING PROCEDURES TO BENEFIT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE INCREASES
In addition, due to the impact of the Covid 19 epidemic, business has encountered many difficulties. Most restaurants and entertainment centers are deserted, many fashion stores and cosmetics stores have been forced to close. Vinh market alone has more than 1,000 stalls forced to close due to sluggish sales or cutting costs to maintain operations.
The first option that restaurant and kiosk owners consider is to cut staff to save monthly costs, so there is a large surplus of freelance workers.
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| The number of people coming to Nghe An Employment Service Center has increased sharply in the past 2 months. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
At the Provincial Employment Service Center, the number of people coming to register for jobs is quite large, the number of people coming to apply for unemployment insurance benefits has also increased sharply compared to the previous period. In particular, according to Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan - Deputy Director of Nghe An Employment Service Center, if at the beginning of 2020, the number of workers coming to the center to apply for unemployment insurance benefits decreased sharply (down 50% compared to the same period in 2019), then at the end of February and the beginning of March, the number of workers coming to apply for unemployment insurance benefits increased by about 30%. The number of people coming to the floor to find new jobs has also increased sharply in recent days...
"The number of workers applying for unemployment insurance increased by more than 30%. The number of people looking for jobs also increased."
