Shuttle bus shortage means Dong Nai workers cannot get work

A company in Dong Nai Province has to temporarily let their workers off from work as they are unable to arrange transportation.

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On July 18, Le Quoc Thanh, CEO of Phong Thai Group, said they had to let off 34,000 workers at four factories in Song May Industrial Park for a week until further notice. Song May Industrial Park is not in the locked-down area, however, the local authorities asked firms to have shuttle buses for their workers to prevent the virus from spreading.

"We've reviewed the number of buses and workers and we realised that we don't have enough vehicles for all workers, especially when the buses have to follow social distancing rules and can only run at half of the capacity," he said.

Another factory under Phong Thai Group in Xuan Loc Industrial Park also let 6,700 out of the total 33,000 workers off from work temporarily to prevent Covid-19 outbreak.

Chairman of Trang Bom District Labour Federation Le Duc Thuy said Song May Industrial Park has 50 factories. Phong Thai Group has the biggest number of workers in the industrial park as well as Dong Nai Province with a total of 67,000 workers.

"We have provided support to the workers to ensure that Covid-19 preventive measures are carried out while maintaining business as usual," Thuy said.

Vu Thi Minh Chau, chairwoman of Trang Bom District People's Committee said they were focusing on the locked-down and Covid-19 outbreaks in Bac Son and Ho Nai 3 communes and has asked firms to follow tightened preventive measures to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible.