Laid-off Beijing workers to get financial aid, official says

Workers who lose their jobs because of Beijing’s efforts to relocate noncapital functions to neighboring regions will receive compensation to soften the blow, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The city government is moving manufacturers and wholesale markets, as well as other industries, to outlying areas to ease pressure on resources and reduce congestion. Experts say layoffs are inevitable.

However, Liu Xiaojun, head of employment promotion for the Beijing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, said a subsidy will be paid to those affected while they search for alternative employment, according to a Beijing News report.

To qualify, workers will have to satisfy two conditions: they need to have contributed to social security insurance; and they need to have been laid off instead of resigning. 

The amount paid will depend on their social security insurance contributions, while migrant workers will be required to proof from their former employer that they were laid off.

Liu was speaking at a job fair in the capital’s Dongcheng district on Wednesday. He said more job fairs will be organized in the run-up to Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 16.