Free buses take workers to their native lands to welcome Lunar New Year of the Dog (Photo: VNA)
Tran Kim Yen, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labour said that this year, the federation and enterprises in local export processing zones and industrial parks have presented 4,816 travel tickers worth nearly VND4.5 billion to help workers reunite with their families.
Alongside, a number of Tet gifts have been presented to the workers, she added.
On February 11th and 12th, the federation will continue sending over 3,000 workers home for Tet via 67 buses, said Yen.
Also on February 10th, the Youth Federation of the central city of Da Nang held a “Green chung cake festival” to make over 1,000 “chung” (glutinous square cake, which is popularly made during Tet) for disadvantaged people in the locality.
Along with making the cake, the event also includes many folk games and art performance.
Nguyen Manh Dung, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Youth Federation said that local youth have also conducted various activities to assist the needy, including presenting Tet gits to poor households and travel tickers to poor workers to return home for the Tet, the most important festival of Vietnamese people in a year.
In the northern province of Quang Ninh, the provincial Labour Federation supported 37 workers of a construction project whose contractor fled without paying them with VND300,000 each. The Military Headquarters of the province also offered VND1 million to each worker.
Meanwhile, the Youth Union of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long has launched a voluntary programme with diverse activities to support the needy.
Together with sending Tet gifts to soldiers based in Truong Sa archipelagos and platforms, local youth also offered presents to orphaned children, policy beneficiaries, poor students, and children patients in the Vinh Long General Hospital.
In a hope to bring a warmer Tet festival for poor people, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has presented thousands of gifts to them before Tet.
The provincial People’s Committee has ordered an advance payment of VND11.1 billion from the province’s budget for the Fund for Supporting the Poor to assist 22,200 poor households during the festival. The province has also mobilised 17,750 Tet gifts worth over VND4.5 billion from local organisations, enterprises and donors for the poor.
The south central province of Ninh Thuan has spent over VND10 billion to support local poor households and policy beneficiaries. Earlier, the Prime Minister has approved an aid of 956 tonnes of rice for Ninh Thuan.
Meanwhile in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital has launched free bus for nearly 200 patients from southern, Central Highlands, Mekong Delta and central localities to return home for Tet.
On February 9th, poor workers in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, workers in the Bac Dong Phu industrial Park enjoyed a festival with many festive activities. More than 2,330 Tet gifts and 100 bus tickets were also presented to poor workers.
A similar festival was also held for workers in the northern province of Hoa Binh, during which 500 Tet gifts worth VND350,000 each and 200 travel tickers were delivered to needy workers.
In the northern province of Hung Yen, the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs have set aside over VND20 billion to support the needy during Tet.
The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has gathered nearly VND20 billion from the society to assist poor households and policy beneficiaries.
At the same time, over 1,334 tonnes of rice have been delivered to locals in poor localities of the central Quang Binh province. Quang Binh is one of the localities hit seriously by floods and storms in late 2017./.