Women's Federations Nationwide Promote Resumption of Work, Production

Workers in a clothing factory in Suning County, North China's Hebei Province, sew vests. [China Women's News]

As many cities resume work and production in an orderly manner, women's federations across China are taking all measures to unite and mobilize women to resume work while making efforts to prevent and control the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  

Financial Support Eases Enterprises' Cash Flow Pressure 

A catering company, also a member unit of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Fuyang City, East China's Anhui Province, received a loan of one million yuan (US $142,381.2) from a branch of the Postal Savings Bank of China in Fuyang on February 18, with the help of the Fuyang Women's Federation. 

"Thanks to the city's women's federation and the high efficiency of the postal savings bank, we can get through the current difficulty (with the loan)," said Duan Huiting, founder of the catering company.

To help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises cope with the financial pressure in wake of COVID-19, the city's women's federation and the branch of the Postal Savings Bank launched a special loan program for small and medium-sized enterprises and women entrepreneurs of start-ups, boosting women entrepreneurs' confidence and promoting a smooth return to work and production in women's enterprises.

The Taizhou Women's Federation in East China's Zhejiang Province has also granted unsecured, guarantee-free, and low-interest-rate loans to a maximum credit of 10 million yuan (US $1.42 million) to help women entrepreneurs of start-ups who are facing cash flow pressure to pull through. 

Various Measures Taken for Enterprises to Resume Work

The Women's Federation of Huangyan District, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, has issued guidelines for enterprises to resume work and production by providing enterprises and workers with detailed preventive measures in a working environment and during commuting time.

The Women's Federation of Jiangsu Province, in East China, has provided online courses and guidance on employment and business start-ups to women.

The Women's Federation of Nanjing City, in Jiangsu Province, called on the Women's Federation of the High-tech Zone, in the city, to care for the physical and mental health of women workers and help them solve their problems in production and their lives.

The Handan Women's Federation in Handan City, North China's Hebei Province, worked with governmental departments to publicize the resumption policies online to more than 200 member units of the Handan Women Entrepreneurs Association and to answer their questions. The federation has also set up an online psychological counseling group to serve employees as they return to work. Women volunteers have been organized to help the employees have haircut, deliver daily necessities and carry epidemic prevention supplies.

In Shenzhen City, South China's Guangdong Province, the Women's Federation of Nanshan District called on women officials, members of the executive committee of the women's federation and women entrepreneurs to make every effort to support enterprises to resume work, helping prepare epidemic prevention materials and facilitating emergency protection to solve the enterprises' real difficulties.

In North China's Shanxi Province, Li Yan, head of a local farmers' specialized cooperative in Dongxiuzhuang Township, Xinzhou City, worked on resuming production along with the epidemic prevention and control efforts. All the breeding and processing work of the cooperative has now been fully resumed.

Female embroiderers in the city's Fanshi County began working at home, providing online courses available for enthusiasts. In addition, more than 100 women in Yunzhou District, Datong City of Shanxi Province, have taken needed flower-making materials home to get down to work.

Efforts Made to Help Farmers in Production and Sales 

In Tongliang District, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the district's women's federation sent seeds, plastic mulch, and fertilizer to 56 households, including left-behind women and impoverished families, in Shuinian Village, Baiyang Town. It helped impoverished villagers address their urgent need for spring ploughing while avoiding large gatherings.

The Women's Federation of Baishi Village, in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, helped a local vegetable grower sell 8,000 kilograms of radishes through online direct-sales platforms. The village's federation also organized women volunteers to package and deliver the radishes.

The women's federations of Jiaxing and Wenzhou cities in Zhejiang mobilized women volunteers and entrepreneurs to help women farmers sell vegetables and chickens.

Women harvest vegetables in a greenhouse in Xiaqiu Village, Tongcheng Town, Wenxi County, North China's Shanxi Province. [China Women's News]

Female workers make clothing in a poverty alleviation workshop in Jingle County, Shanxi Province. [China Women's News]

The High-tech Industrial Park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen City, South China's Guangdong Province, distributes anti-virus supplies to enterprises for work resumption. [China Women's News]

Women in Yalin Village, Doujiang Town, Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, place plastic mulch on farmland. [China Women's News]

In a greenhouse peach garden in Suning County, North China's Hebei Province, a female worker pollinates peach flowers. [China Women's News]

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)