Coronavirus: China’s east coast provinces offer chartered transport, rewards to get rural migrants back to work
- Sweeping measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak have exacerbated labour shortages in China as the country struggles to restart the economy
- Authorities on China’s east coast are arranging chartered transport and offering allowances to lure migrant workers back to their jobs
Provincial governments in China’s east coast manufacturing hubs have begun arranging buses, trains and flights to bring migrant workers back to factories as the country desperately tries to restart production halted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Local authorities have been urged by President Xi Jinping to kick-start economic activity after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, but many businesses are finding one key component missing – workers.
Authorities in many parts of the country have introduced sweeping containment measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,000 people and infected tens of thousands more in the mainland.
Mandatory 14-day quarantines for returning workers, in addition to transport restrictions and lockdowns have hampered the flow of migrant workers, exacerbating labour shortages.
But mandatory 14-day quarantines for returning workers, in addition to transport restrictions and lockdowns, have hampered the flow of migrant workers, exacerbating labour shortages.