Vietnam’s southern provinces seek to end stay-at-work arrangements

This comes after one month of the “stay-at-work” arrangement when workers had to work, eat and sleep at their factory premises to curb the spread of COVID-19 amid the ongoing lockdowns in many of the country’s cities and provinces.  

These workers have expressed their unwillingness to continue staying at the factories after work as the lockdowns show no sign of being lifted. 

The provincial government of Dong Nai has asked companies wishing to end the stay-at-work arrangement to submit their requests to the provincial Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Dong Nai Industrial Zones Authority. 

Once approved, businesses have to conduct COVID-19 tests for all employees, and only those tested negative can return home. 

For companies wishing to stop the “one route, two locations” arrangement – where employers arrange shuttle buses to transport their workers between their concentrated housing premises and their factories, employers must similarly ensure that their employees test negative for the virus before leaving their factory premises. 

The requirement to test workers will also apply to the 1,000 companies in the town of Tan Uyen in the neighbouring province of Binh Duong that want to stop the stay-at-work arrangement. 

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Under the law, employers are fully responsible if they allow any employee to return home without complying with the above-mentioned regulations or allow them to leave their facilities without the authorities’ permission, according to Saigon Times.