Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – According to a report from China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on the 5th, the department recently allocated 6 billion yuan (RMB) in central government budgetary investment for the fourth batch of work-for-relief projects in 2025, bringing the total central government investment for the year to 35.5 billion yuan. This is expected to create over 1.1 million low-income people with local employment opportunities. The NDRC is also guiding local governments to promote the work-for-relief approach in other key projects, which is expected to create over 4 million low-income people with local employment opportunities this year.
Work-for-relief refers to a government-invested infrastructure project where recipients receive labor wages for participating in the construction, thus replacing direct relief.
According to reports, in implementing work-for-relief projects, local governments focused on agriculture, rural areas, and urban-rural integration, which require large amounts of labor. They promoted a number of small and medium-sized infrastructure projects, including hardening village roads and lanes, upgrading production roads, dredging irrigation and drainage ditches, and constructing reservoirs and ponds. These projects aimed to achieve multiple policy goals, such as increasing income for migrant workers, improving infrastructure, and stimulating investment growth.
By 2025, central government investment in work-for-relief projects will have implemented over 7,000 projects, prioritizing areas with high concentrations of impoverished populations and those under monitoring for potential relapse into poverty, as well as areas with high labor demand. The proportion of labor remuneration in central government investment for work-for-relief projects will further increase to over 40%, and the amount of labor remuneration paid per unit of central government investment will be further expanded, increasing actual income for migrant workers.
The National Development and Reform Commission stated that it will next urge and guide local governments to promote the commencement of work-for-relief projects with allocated investment, focus on key aspects such as organizing employment for key groups and distributing wages, and simultaneously maintain a regular and rolling reserve of projects to ensure that work-for-relief projects effectively play a counter-cyclical role in stabilizing employment and promoting income growth. (End)
