Young people look for jobs at the Youth Employment Service Centre of HCM City in May. — VNS Photo Gia Lộc

Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — The temporary closure of non-essential services in HCM City, such as wedding and convention centres, has affected young people’s employment opportunities.

“I am a student and I had a part-time job. Because of the temporary closure of wedding and convention centres, I lost my job,” a 21-year-old worker from Gò Vấp District told Việt Nam News.

Young people who work at massage parlours have also been affected.

“Two years ago, my income from my job was enough, but I now have to use my saved money because the parlour where I worked closed,” said a young woman who declined to be named.

To help workers, the Youth Employment Service Centre of HCM City, which is part of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union, on May 20 launched an assistance programme.

The 21-year-old man from Gò Vấp District came to the centre to register his personal information and inquired about a job.

The centre has presented essential necessities and VNĐ500,000 in cash to 60 young workers in financial difficulties in Gò Vấp and Bình Thạnh districts, both of which have a large number of young workers affected by the recent COVID-19 outbreak.  

After Tết, the centre co-operated with authorities in Nhà Bè and Hóc Môn districts to help local workers find jobs at enterprises that needed employees.

Hà Linh Chi, in charge of national defence and security in residential areas for Gò Vấp District's Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union, said: "My colleagues and I have updated recruitment demands of enterprises in the district and published them on the union's website for young people. They have policies to help young people find jobs."   

Free vocational training

The Youth Employment Service Centre of HCM City has also planned to open training courses for young people. It already signed an agreement with Cao Thắng Technical College to provide free vocational training.

The Cao Thắng Technical College has also collaborated with the city Federation of Labour and enterprises to open more free vocational training courses, especially for women, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority groups who have lost jobs or have had their working hours reduced due to the outbreak since May.

A total of 191 people have registered to participate in those free vocational training courses which offer between 30 and 60 lessons. Study schedules are flexible. Learners can study at nights and at weekends. The training courses are in the fields of computer assembly, advertising design, car care techniques, and others.

After these courses, the college will help the trainees get a job.

Dr Lê Đình Kha, rector of the Cao Thắng Technical College, however, said: "These training courses now are temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. They will continue as the outbreak is controlled well in the city and the schools are allowed to reopen."

According to the Federation of Labour, more than 32 million workers in the country have lost jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak since last year. Most of them are manual workers who have never had training.

The city's trade unions have encouraged landlords to reduce rental fees for workers amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Many landlords in Gò Vấp District and others began reducing rent in early May.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has approved an emergency allowance for its members and workers affected by the fourth COVID-19 outbreak.

Trade union members and workers at enterprises without a trade union who are COVID-19 patients and have not violated regulations about disease prevention and control will receive a one-time VNĐ3 million ($130) each.  

A VNĐ1.5 million allowance is provided to trade union members who have had contact with COVID-19 patients. Female workers and those with children less than 6 years old as well as others who were forced to stop working because of lockdowns in their areas get an allowance of VNĐ500,000 each.

These allowances started on May 19.

The city's Federation of Labour on Wednesday said it has provided support for more than 1,000 workers being quarantined at export processing and industrial zones as well as other locked-down areas.

The city authorities are working with departments and agencies to survey businesses affected by COVID-19 to offer proper support measures. They have also built plans to support people who are forced to stop working for more than one month due to COVID-19. 

Speaking at a recent meeting, the city People's Committee Chairman Nguyễn Thành Phong instructed relevant agencies to update the list of workers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and offer assistance to them.

The Việt Nam Red Cross Society’s HCM City chapter in May organised many zero-đồng markets for workers with financial difficulties amid COVID-19 outbreak in the city's many districts. These workers got essential necessities for their daily life. They were also given cash. 

The city had more than 182,200 freelancers affected by COVID-19 outbreaks as of July last year. They received a total allowance of nearly VNĐ181 billion ($7.9 million), or VNĐ1 million each month last year. Other workers losing jobs in the city last year also received monthly allowances, although all of these allowances eventually ended.

The city Fundraising Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control last year said it allocated nearly VNĐ27 billion for freelancers who lost jobs due to outbreaks at that time. — VNS

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