Mekong Delta province urged to let 3,500 go to work in HCMC

In a document sent to the Mekong Delta province's chairman, Nguyen Van Vinh, Friday, Director of Pouyuen Vietnam Lu Chi Yuan said several workers living outside HCMC used to travel to the city by bus to work. At the end of June, workers were made to stay off work as per coronavirus prevention protocol, but were still partially paid by the company.

Pouyuen resumed production on Oct. 6 after the coronavirus situation was largely put under control. While the firm has ramped up production to around 70 percent of its original capacity, the number of workers currently in HCMC are not enough to sustain such a rate of production, the firm stated. Surveys by the firm said workers wish to return to work so they could support themselves and their families, it claimed.

Pouyen stated its workers in Tien Giang, 63km southwest of the city, have been vaccinated with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. For those who have yet to be fully vaccinated, the firm would vaccinate them once they return to the factory. Pouyuen would use buses to transport its workers and follow other coronavirus prevention measures, it said.

On Friday, Tien Giang People's Committee sent documents to HCMC, Long An, Ben Tre, Dong Thap and Vinh Long to request workers in Tien Giang businesses be allowed to go back and forth between their homes and workplaces. However, the documents did not mention anything about letting people from Tien Giang travel to other places for work.

With over 56,000 workers, Pouyuen is the largest company in HCMC. Besides those already in the southern city, the firm has another 16,000 employees in Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Long An, Tay Ninh and Tien Giang, who go back and forth using company buses.

Long An has the highest number of employees at 10,000 people, and has already agreed to let Pouyuen buses transport workers starting November.