Female workers in the northern province of Bắc Giang receive emergency support from the New Zealand Embassy. Photo courtesy of the embassy

HÀ NỘI — The New Zealand Embassy is working with the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to provide immediate financial support for 420 female workers from factories in Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh which have been economically affected by the recent COVID-19 outbreak.

On Monday, New Zealand Ambassador to Việt Nam Tredene Dobson joined a virtual ceremony to officially hand over the financial package to the workers.

Since April 27, 2021, a fourth wave of COVID-19 has affected many provinces and cities across Việt Nam. Bắc Giang, Bắc Ninh and HCM City are among the most impacted locations. As a result, more than nine million workers in Việt Nam have lost their income and many families have fallen into economic hardship.

Each worker will be provided with VNĐ1,000,000 in cash to help cover some of their immediate needs. This initiative aims to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 among 420 workers in Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces, whose jobs and incomes have been affected by the recent COVID-19 outbreak. 

 “This project demonstrates the strong partnership between New Zealand and Việt Nam,” said Ambassador Tredene Dobson.

“This project is a practical initiative to help ease the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the workers and their families. I am proud to say that through the Head of Embassy’s Fund, we have been able to support around 3,000 women throughout Việt Nam impacted by COVID-19 in the last 12 months,” she said.

New Zealand and Việt Nam celebrate 46 years of diplomatic relations this year. Over that time New Zealand has worked closely with Việt Nam to develop shared prosperity and stability, drawing on the best of New Zealand’s knowledge and skills. VNS