Rural workers getting back to their jobs

More than 20 million rural workers in 25 provincial regions have returned to their jobs as the novel coronavirus outbreak has abated in China, according to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Some 2.11 million of them are from the 52 counties labeled as impoverished, according to Wang Chunyan, deputy director of the office's general department.

"They account for 83 percent of last year's migrant workers in the 52 counties," she told a daily news conference in Beijing.

Wu Hua, deputy head of the office's department of development guidance, said the progress has instilled momentum into the national poverty relief work that aims to end absolute poverty before 2021.

Migrant workers can be found in a large percentage of rural families still mired in poverty or those who have recently shaken it off. Two-thirds of their income comes from earnings from working outside, Wu said.

The developments came as the central authorities have prioritized the employment of rural workers as well as efforts to make sure they do not get laid off amid the epidemic.

As of March 27, local authorities have arranged chartered buses and trains for 1.38 million migrant workers returning to work, according to Wu.

But he noted that an estimated 5 million have yet to return to their posts at factories or construction sites.

"We will actively give them guidance and create conditions for them to resume work as soon as possible," he said.

Apart from travel restrictions that prevented migrant workers from reaching their jobs, the novel coronavirus also disrupted logistics chains at the height of the outbreak, leading to the lackluster sales of farm produce and threatening to push many back into poverty.

To reduce the impact, Wang said her department, along with several other government agencies, have launched a campaign to promote the consumption of farm produce from impoverished regions.

A circular was issued on Feb 14 to help identify "poverty relief products", so that businesses and government agencies in better-off regions can help promote the sales of such products.

Wu said 22 provinces in central and western provinces have identified 22,566 such products worth more than 215.2 billion yuan ($30.3 billion) as of March 27, involving 10,269 suppliers scattered across some 1,000 counties.

Nine eastern provinces have purchased farm produce worth more than 2.1 billion yuan, he said, adding the farmer's dilemma has generally been relieved.

To shake off poverty, farmers need to prove they have access to safe housing and clean drinking water, among other requirements. But the novel coronavirus has disrupted many projects to that end.

Wu said there are around 370,000 projects in 22 provincial regions in the west, and 220,000, or 60 percent, have resumed construction.