The suffering of people who lost their jobs and had to struggle for food every meal because of Covid-19
(Baonghean) - Under the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the lives of tens of thousands of workers and thousands of businesses in our province have been seriously affected. In addition, tens of thousands of vulnerable people, the poor and near-poor are also miserable because they cannot make a living during the pandemic.
From policy subjects, social protection
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, from Hong Long commune (Nam Dan) has severe kidney failure and has been on dialysis for 12 years at large and small hospitals. Having no husband, no children, no job, and always having to have relatives support her with expenses to ensure her life, she has been a recipient of social protection for many years. For many years, she has been attached to the dialysis boarding house behind Hospital 115, along with a small kiosk to earn extra money for medicine costs. However, for more than 3 months now, her kiosk has had few customers, so the cost of medicine and daily living expenses for dialysis has become much more difficult.
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| Most dialysis patients are from sponsored groups or poor households. Photo: My Ha |
“Every month I need at least 4.5 - 5 million for medicine, not to mention living expenses and food, but I can’t do anything, just waiting for this small kiosk. However, during these quarantine days, there are few buyers, and I can’t import many goods, so I have almost no income. All I can do is rely on the monthly allowance and the money my sister gives me,” said Ms. Nga.
This dialysis village currently has more than 8 people, all in the final stage, each with their own circumstances, but all share the same poverty, loneliness and constant torment of illness. Every other day they have to go to the hospital for dialysis, then return to the village to live on vegetables and porridge, then wait for the next dialysis session. Ms. Luong Thi Tuan, from Quang Phong commune (Que Phong), Thai ethnic group said: "Every month I only receive 1.1 million VND in subsidies and my husband and children have to send more down to make ends meet, but with the pandemic like this, my husband in the countryside cannot find extra work so he has no money to support me anymore."
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| Policy and social protection beneficiaries have faced many difficulties in recent months. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
The family of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh in Hung Chinh commune (Vinh city) is a beneficiary of the Agent Orange regime and has also been extremely miserable in recent months. “Before the epidemic, I was also hired as a construction worker, but now that social distancing has been implemented, all construction projects have stopped so there is no work. There are 6 mouths to feed in the family, all 3 children are affected by the poison, but honestly, I don't know where to turn when the subsidy is only 950,000 VND/month, not enough for medicine for the epileptic child." Mr. Ta Quang Du - Chairman of the Vinh City Agent Orange Association said: "Most of the disabled people due to the effects of Agent Orange are poor households. If the epidemic continues to be complicated and prolonged, they will no longer be able to afford their daily meals."
To the workers and the self-employed
The row of dormitories for more than 100 workers at Bac Vinh Industrial Park is quieter than usual these days. At nearly 6 p.m., which used to be the shift change time, workers were bustling about finishing work and preparing for dinner, but now the scene is desolate, with only half of the dormitories still occupied.
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| Freelance workers are the first group affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Sitting in an old room, Mr. Tran Xuan Ky, a resident of Thanh Chuong district, said that since the Covid-19 pandemic, he and many other workers at the company have had to take days off every other day due to lack of work. His income has also decreased by more than half, even though he works in the technical department of a famous Korean car company.
“For more than 2 months now, all of our company's activities have been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic and workers are the first to be affected. We are lucky to still have jobs created by the company, but due to the lack of customers, each person only works a few days a week and the current salary is not enough to cover expenses because there is only about 3 million VND/person left',
Next to Mr. Ky's room is the shabby and rather simple rented room of Ms. Vuong Thi Huong - a worker of Sangwoo Vietnam Co., Ltd., located in VSIP Industrial Park. Her situation is quite special, when she was not yet 25 years old, she was divorced and had a child living with her grandparents in Yen Thanh. Since after Tet until now, to have more income, she moved from Yen Thanh to Vinh City to rent a house and applied for a job at a garment company. However, this is also the time when all businesses are affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, so her work is also erratic, sometimes there is, sometimes not. During the 2 weeks of social distancing, she had to stay at home because the company was not operating. Ms. Huong also said: “In my hometown, there are quite a lot of garment businesses during this time, but the income in the companies is very low. That is why, even though I have to be far away from my children, I still try to go to Vinh City to work in the hope of having more salary to improve my life. However, with the epidemic situation like this, we are very tired and do not know if the salary is enough to pay for rent, food, living expenses or not...”.
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| Many workers in industrial parks have seen their incomes reduced due to work interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: My Ha |
The sharp decline in income of many workers and laborers comes from the difficulties of businesses facing the Covid-19 epidemic, especially for businesses in the fields of tourism, services, transportation... Of the 150 businesses belonging to the Nghe An Young Entrepreneurs Association, the number of affected businesses is up to more than half. Among them, there are businesses that have reduced their business by 70 - 80% (transportation) or accepted losses, with no jobs like in the fields of tourism and education.
“The sudden onset of the pandemic has left many businesses unprepared and it is estimated that revenue will decrease by 50-100% compared to the same period last year. We are also concerned that if the pandemic continues and there are no effective solutions to support struggling businesses, many businesses may be at risk of stopping production or even going bankrupt on a large scale.”
At VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park, there are currently 8 investors in operation and 7 investors building factories. Currently, most of these enterprises are facing many problems that have significantly affected production and business activities, mainly due to the shortage of raw materials and local labor. At this time, in the industrial park, there is 1 factory that has had to temporarily stop production due to a serious decline in market share.
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Due to lack of input materials and export restrictions, the garment industry has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Ha Nga |
“Based on Resolution No. 42/NQ-CP dated April 9, 2020 of the Government on measures to support people facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic; Official Dispatch No. 02/CD-LDTBXH dated April 3, 2020 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on strengthening the implementation of urgent measures to prevent and combat the Covid-19 pandemic during the peak period, we have reviewed the beneficiaries in a spirit of urgency but without missing any people or sending the wrong people.”
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