China has promised to give welfare support to millions of migrant workers who have lost income due to coronavirus but who previously fell outside the country’s social security safety net.
Migrant workers who do not have unemployment insurance will for the first time be able to claim “subsistence allowance”, the state council, China’s cabinet, announced on Tuesday, adding that the benefit would also be extended to others who have not been covered by official insurance programmes.
Major state-backed construction projects will also be encouraged to hire more workers, with the portion of investment that can be directed towards hiring expanded to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, the state council said.