Struggling workers to share 650 million yuan in holiday handouts

Subsidies worth 650 million yuan ($94.6 million) will be paid to companies and workers strapped for cash ahead of the upcoming New Year and Spring Festival holidays, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions announced Thursday.

The central government will contribute 600 million yuan, and the rest will come from the federation.

The federation said it has also channeled 50 million yuan into its charitable foundation, which supports workers in financial difficulty.

Luan Yue, an inspector for the federation's rights protection department, said more people will benefit from this round of subsidies.

"We used to give subsidies to workers, migrant workers, model underprivileged workers, and employees working during the holidays," he said. "This year, workers strapped for cash due to illness, disaster or work-related injuries will also enjoy the allowance."

It has been a tradition for the federation to give subsidies to underprivileged workers during the New Year's and Spring Festival holidays since 1992.

"What we were most concerned with at the very beginning was whether an underprivileged worker could have dumplings, a traditional food eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve," Luan said.

"However, what we've done now is set an example to companies to make this campaign into a more sustainable one that delivers warmth and love to workers, not only for the holidays but throughout the year."