Workers in an industrial park in Bac Ninh are tested before vaccination
To curb the disease outbreaks in export processing zones and industrial parks, the Government and the Ministry of Health have directed to give priority to Covid-19 vaccination for the workers in industrial parks and export processing zones.
In the past few days, when the Covid-19 has developed complicatedly, for fear that the disease will affect the production and operation of the company, the Board of Directors of Nidec Vietnam Company in Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc City has activated different preventative measures. In addition to checking workers’ body temperature, washing hands with soap, and donning masks, the company also put into use an automatic body temperature machine placed in front of the workshop area.
In addition, the company also installed partitions at the cafeteria, reducing the number of workers eating between shifts and ensuring safety distance between workers. The company also set up a makeshift medical room for isolation if a worker is suspected of having Covid-19.
Luu Kim Hong, Chairman of the Trade Union of Nidec Vietnam, the company is currently hiring about 6,000 employees, including 2,600 full-time employees. These above-mentioned solutions are temporary but vaccination, because Vietnam has reported a new Covid-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in the UK and India which is more transmissible than the previously known type, and the new variant spreads quickly in the air.
With a large number of employees in industrial parks and export processing zones, in dormitories, the greater risk of infection will affect the company’s production activities and workers' lives. Chairman Hong said that because of too much worry about the spread of coronavirus, the company has contacted many suppliers to order vaccines. Therefore, the company is willing to pay for its staff vaccination.
Wanting to join hands with the Government in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses said they are willing to pay for vaccines. According to a representative of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), the textile and garment industry is employing over 2.5 million workers nationwide; Vinatex alone has more than 150,000 employees. All of the businesses in the industry agreed to pay employees to get vaccinated
Vinatex hopes that in the first phase, the Government can give priority to vaccination for all employees directly in the production of the corporation.
Being a food producer, Saigon Food Joint Stock Company in Vinh Loc Industrial Park has applied many safety measures to prevent and control the epidemic including for workers to take turns in shifts. However, the company is still looking forward to vaccination for workers who directly work in the chain and ready to pay for the vaccine.
For the past time, many employees and business leaders were very worried about the companies’ operation. On June 2, the Ministry of Health announced a list of 36 enterprises licensed to import, preserve and transport vaccines in Vietnam. The Ministry of Health also said that it will facilitate business associations to find a vaccine source approved by the World Health Organization by simplifying formalities.
According to Ho Xuan Lam, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Labor Confederation, vaccination for workers, especially workers directly in production, is very necessary nowadays. Only when workers get vaccinated, they feel secured to work; therefore, the dual goals of containing the outbreak, keeping the economy on track can be achieved. The Ho Chi Minh City Labor Confederation has sent an official letter to encourage businesses to spend money purchasing vaccines for employees.
