To control the COVID-19 epidemic - which has now claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people - the government and many companies encourage workers to work at home. As a result, shopping malls, restaurants, theme parks or cinemas are all closed, the streets are almost deserted.
Although effective in controlling the spread of the epidemic, this has caused many Chinese workers to have difficulty in their income, as many businesses have announced that they are unable to pay salaries, or cannot pay salaries to workers who are quarantined and do not go to work.
NIO Inc., a Shanghai-based electric car maker, recently delayed its salary for a week. Company Chairman William Li encourages employees to receive stocks instead of bonuses.
At Foxconn Technology Company's factory in Shenzhen, workers returning after the Lunar New Year holiday all have to be quarantined in a dormitory before they can return to work and receive a salary of only one-third of their previous income.
ick Zeng, Deputy General Director of Lionsgate Amusement Park in Chu Hai, said the park has been inactive as required by the government since the end of January. Starting next week, many employees will have to take unpaid leave.
Robert Zhang, a hotel manager in Fujian, shared that almost 100 rooms were empty during the time. Two-thirds of the employees have received a sum of money and are on leave. If the situation only lasts for a month or two, we can still hold on, but if it continues like this and tourism does not recover in the next 3 to 4 months, it will be a disaster for us, he added.
