Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country, many firms in East Lake High-tech Development Zone (Optics Valley of China) have come up with ways to compensate employees for staying put in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province.

"Staying-put workers" in Wuhan Huagong Genuine Optics Co Ltd, for example, are granted gift packages of fruits and nuts. The company will also allocate 2.7 million yuan ($405,000) to pay for extra work offered to the workers who stay put during the Spring Festival holiday.

Workers in Wuhan Huagong Genuine Optics Co Ltd are on the production line. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

Huirui Talent, an outsourcing service provider, has prepared gift packages worth 100,000 yuan for more than 300 contractors in Wuhan. The company has business partners such as Foxconn Technology Group, TCL CSOT (TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd) and HGTECH, and has provided work for more than 500,000 people.

A proposal made on Jan 24 by the Hubei Federation of Industry and Commerce suggested that local chambers of commerce and private enterprises should encourage workers to stay put over the Spring Festival holiday and organize activities to entertain non-native workers in Wuhan.