67.The nation's first Help Centre for Needy Workers have supported more than 430,000 workers during the past seven years
http://www.tj-summerdavos.cn 2014-09-08 19:52

The Tianjin Municipal Government attaches great importance to social relief, and has been making constant efforts to improve its social relief system. Aiming at solving practical problems that the people are most concerned with, the municipal government established China’s first Help Centre for Needy Workers at the beginning of 2002, completely covering needy workers whose enterprises are in difficulty and cannot help, and those in enterprises where no workers’ union has been established, needy unemployed or retired workers in communities, needy immigrant workers, and so on. At the end of 2007, Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, inspected Tianjin Help Centre for Needy Workers, praising it as “an important innovation” and “a contribution to the building of a harmonious society”.

As the first centre of its kind in China, it has offered prompt and direct assistance to needy workers since its establishment seven years ago. It helps resolve practical problems for the workers through five programs, including Assistance for the Very Needy, Free Employment Service, Coordination by Post and Visit, Legal Aid and Help Supermarket. Established by the Tianjin Labor’s Union, the centre has offered assistance to 430,000 individuals, including service for living to 94,000 people, employment service to 96,000 people, schooling service to 60,000 people, medical-care service to 95,000 people, legal aid to 45,000 people and coordination by post and visit to 40,000 people. Officials of the centre told us that the service is supposed to be offered with promptness and that the staff is supposed to provide timely assistance to those who have difficulty with their lives. Apart from offering direct help, the centre also runs empowering programs, encouraging needy laid-off workers who are willing and able to work to re-enter the labor market. It offers one-package service of re-employment, technical training, information, recruitment and follow-up and there have been 87,600 previously laid-off workers and their children getting re-employed with the service. Zhang Qiyong and his wife were both laid off previously. He contacted the centre by mail only wishing to have a try and the centre found him a position in a beer brewery within three days. Later, the centre also helped his wife be successfully re-employed.

In order to make sure it is able to consistently empower people, the centre has established a funding program supported by the society. It builds a long-term cooperative relationship with several enterprises including TEDA and The Second Darentang Pharmaceutical Factory of Tianjin, and manages the donation from all sections of the society.

The centre has also made public two social relief hotlines. People who are eligible for the assistance, be it the needy workers or their relatives and neighbors, will be considered as the customer and offered with timely assistance right after verification. During the past seven years, there have been 36,000 calls received and 46,500 households assisted.

 
Source:Enorth.com.cn

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