HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Financial relief packages and free supply of riceand other essential goods are among the many initiatives being taken by theGovernment and charity organisations to help workers affected by the COVID-19pandemic.

Around 9.1 million people have had their employment status negatively impactedby the pandemic in the first quarter of this year, with the services sectorbeing the worst affected, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam(GSO).

They include 540,000 people who lost jobs and 2.8 million who wereforced to take time off work due to suspension of production by theircompanies, while the rest had working hours reduced, Pham Hoai Nam, director ofthe GSO’s population and labour statistics department, said.

More than one in five workers in the services sector were affected.

The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector were the least affected,with just 7.5 percent of workers reporting negative impacts.

The Ministry of Labour Invalids and Social Affairs has recommended anumber of measures to support the affected workers.

Those losing jobs because their employers face difficulties due to thepandemic should get unemployment allowance, it said.

There should be policies to encourage businesses to obtain loans to payfurlough grants for workers, and to give them unsecured interest-free loans topay wages to employees, it said.

The GSO has proposed issuing vaccine passports and preparing to resumetourism to bring back jobs.

Meanwhile, Le Minh Tan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labour,Invalids and Social Affairs, promised to take all measures needed in the secondhalf of the year to safeguard workers’ incomes and jobs.

The city has spent 465 billion VND (20.2 million USD) to support more than336,550 business households and workers severely affected by COVID, accordingto the department.

Tan said 47,533 workers at 2,862 city enterprises have been laid off,and authorities have provided assistance to 20,000 of them.

The city is also set to offer a second financial relief package foraffected businesses and workers.

Tourism, transport, small and medium-sized businesses, teachers, sackedworkers, and informal sector workers will be beneficiaries of payments to bemade between this month and December.

The department proposes to pay workers furloughed for at least a monthrelief payments of 1.8 million VND (78 USD) a month.

Besides, charity organisations and individuals have been donating food,setting up hundreds of ‘ATMs’ to dispense free rice and giving to ‘zero-đồng’supermarkets, while landlords have reduced or deferred rents.

Many landlords have also been donating rice and other essential items totheir worker tenants.

Tran Cong Danh, a landlord in Binh Tan district, said he reduced therents on 150 rooms by 50 percent.

Nguyen Thai Tram, in Go Vap district, said she had donated 10kilogrammes of rice and other basic necessities like sugar, cooking oil, salt,fish sauce, meat, and eggs worth 200,000 VND (9 USD) every week since early Mayto all 250 of her tenants.

Le Thi Hanh, who rents a room in Tan Phu district’s Tay Thanh ward, saidher landlord had reduced the rent by 70 percent and also gives her essentialitems.

This has been occurring in many places in the city, with people evenwaiving rents for up to two months.

Trade unions too have pitched in to help ease workers’ plight.

Nguyen Thi Thao, a teacher at a school in Binh Thanh district, is offwork.

"I and my husband usually earned around $520 per month. After rentand other expenses, we did not have much left," Thao said.

"When the pandemic broke out, I was six months pregnant with myfirst child, and was trying to save as much as possible."

"I was moved to receive a gift pack of 78 USD in cash from thecity’s financial aid package as well as rice, cooking oil and fish sauce."

“We were in financial difficulty and dependent on my husband’s income,which is unstable because of the epidemic. I have been helped by the Binh ThanhDistrict Trade Union and my school Trade Union," she said.

A Binh Thanh district leader said in the short term the focus would beon supporting contracted people working in public schools, like babysitters andcooks, who do not get paid by the city and have no or reduced incomes afterschools closed.

Every grassroots trade union has a programme to care for the poor.

Recently rice ‘ATMs’ were installed around the city to provide workerswith two kilogrammes of rice and also eggs.

It has already received donations of more than 25 tonnes of rice, andwill continue to solicit donations to keep going as long as possible.

More than 200 lunches are donated daily by the District 5 Trade Union todisadvantaged workers living in boarding houses. It has also financiallysupported poor families in the area.

Le Thi Dan, 72, of District 5, whose family has 12 members, said:"district authorities gave rice and instant noodles a couple of times andneighbours gave five kilogrammes of rice".

“We are very grateful,” she said.

Dozens of so-called ‘zero-dong’ supermarkets have been set up by the RedCross and others to help poor people and those who lost jobs during thepandemic.

One such supermarket at the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in District 3 is among 18set up across the country by Apec Group.

Each of the Zero-VND Happy Supermarkets is designed to ensure visitorsmaintain at least a two-metre gap under the government’s social distancingmandate.

Shoppers can choose five items from among food, clothing and books witha combined value of up to 100,000 VND (4.2 USD)./.