In Anticipation Of A Surge In COVID-19 Infections During Chinese New Year Holidays, Workers In China Are Offered Abundant Incentives

Chengdu Train Station Illustration. (Jonas Lee / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government and companies there offer lucrative incentives for workers so that they do not go home to their hometown during the 2572 Chinese New Year holidays in February.

The main goal is to prevent new cases of COVID-19, while at the same time avoiding the possibility of lockdowns, and ultimately so that companies do not lose profits.

As is known, the Chinese New Year holiday is a moment for hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens to make the journey back and forth to their hometown, which is done once a year. It is recorded that there are 280 million workers who come from rural areas, as well as millions of employees who live far from their homes.

Provincial governments in various regions have issued notices not to travel on vacation. The goal is to control the epidemic, while ensuring the stability of industrial chains and supply of goods.

The incentives provided were greater than usual, including extra payments, gifts, entertainment, a free New Year's dinner, and different holiday arrangements.

The current increase in mass travel also increases the risk of new coronavirus infections, which have been successfully contained and stopped from spreading in several provinces.

Illustration. (Markus Winkler / Unsplash)

It is known, China reported the largest daily spike in new cases of COVID-19 in more than 10 months on Thursday which reached 138 cases, because infections in northeastern Heilongjiang Province almost tripled.

Wang Zhisen, one of the workers at a container factory in the Dongguan Export Center area, said he would stay behind if the factory remained open, even though he had bought train tickets to return to Gansu Province, 2 thousand kilometers away.

“What if you are unlucky and infected on your way home? Later your whole family will get sick. If my factory doesn't close for the holidays, I think I'll just stay in Dongguan. Going home is too risky, "he said, reporting on Reuters.

Meanwhile, a chemical company in Zhejiang said that 85 percent of its employees are interested in staying, with an hourly wage incentive that has doubled and a bonus of 500 yuan.