Relief with work, "relief" out of comprehensive benefits

　　The newly revised "National Measures for the Administration of Relief from Work" will come into effect on March 1 this year.

　　Many urban residents may be unfamiliar with the term "cash for work".

For hundreds of millions of rural workers, "relief with work" is a good policy that actually provides opportunities to work at their doorstep and get paid for their work.

Especially when migrant workers encounter temporary difficulties, the "relief with work" project in their hometown makes rural workers feel at ease.

　　Work-for-work has been practiced in China for nearly 40 years.

What are the changes in the newly revised approach?

How to further "relieve" the actual effect?

　　"The salary is settled every day, 200 yuan per day"

　　Work-for-relief refers to a support policy in which the government invests in the construction of infrastructure projects, and the recipients of relief participate in the construction of the project to obtain labor rewards, which replaces direct relief.

　　The relevant person in charge of the Regional Revitalization Department of the National Development and Reform Commission told this reporter that in 1984, in order to help the poor areas change their appearance, the state used a part of its stocks of grain, cotton cloth and low-end industrial products to support the infrastructure construction of key counties in the national poverty alleviation and development work. New China is the prelude to carrying out development-style poverty alleviation through work-relief.

Up to now, the state has allocated a total of more than 185 billion yuan of special funds (including in-kind conversions), which have played a unique role in promoting employment and income of the masses and improving production and living conditions in underdeveloped areas.

　　"The salary is settled every day, 200 yuan a day." Talking about the work in the town's work-for-work project, Yuan Jianchun, a villager in Zhuyangguan Town, Lushi County, Henan Province, did the math: a monthly income of about 6,000 yuan, a year This kind of work can be done for about 6 months, and this odd job at the door alone can earn more than 30,000 yuan.

　　Li Qingbo, director of the Lushi County Development and Reform Commission, introduced that in the construction of rural transportation, farmland water conservancy, industrial base supporting facilities, and human settlements, Lushi County has integrated the promotion of work-for-relief into project demonstration and construction contracts. , start-up publicity and other links, clarify the number of migrant workers, salary standards, etc., to ensure the implementation of work-for-relief.

Last year, the road project of Wangjiashan Fruit and Medicine Base in Wenyu Township paid 1.2006 million yuan of wages to migrant workers, and the demonstration project of Guoling Village in Guandaokou Town paid 423,400 yuan in wages. The proportion of labor wages both accounted for 15% of the total financial funds of the project above.

　　According to the data of the National Development and Reform Commission, during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance have invested a total of nearly 30 billion yuan in central funds for work relief, driving local funds to exceed 3.5 billion yuan, and supporting poverty-stricken areas to implement a large number of rural Small and medium-sized infrastructure construction projects.

In 2022, through the implementation of work-for-relief projects and the promotion of work-for-relief projects in key government-invested projects, more than 5 million people have been driven to find jobs on the spot, and their per capita income has increased by more than 8,000 yuan.

　　"Affected by the new crown epidemic, rural people are hindered from going out to work. In this context, work-for-relief has created a large number of employment opportunities, effectively alleviated the employment problem in county areas, helped to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation, and gave full play to the role of "relief" Effectiveness.” said Lin Qingning, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Economics Research and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

　　The proportion of labor remuneration increased

　　With the expansion of cash-for-work, cash-for-work at this stage includes not only cash-for-work projects implemented with special funds for cash-for-work, but also the promotion of cash-for-work methods in the field of agricultural and rural infrastructure construction and Work-for-relief projects are implemented in key government-invested projects.

This will create more jobs and put forward higher requirements for classification management.

The new version of the "Administrative Measures" has made adjustments in light of new needs and changes.

　　Requirements for special projects are stricter - according to the new version of the "Administrative Measures", work-for-relief projects specifically refer to special projects implemented using special funds for work-for-relief arranged by development reforms and financial departments. Remuneration and other work are strictly regulated, emphasizing that "manpower can be used as much as possible without machinery, and local people can be organized to work as much as possible without professional construction teams."

　　This formulation has attracted widespread attention.

In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the Regional Revitalization Department of the National Development and Reform Commission explained that this is a management requirement specifically for the cash-for-work projects implemented using the special funds for cash-for-work projects implemented by the state, aiming at not affecting the quality and safety of the project. , give full play to the role of work-for-relief projects in driving employment and increasing income, mobilize and guide more local people to participate in project construction, and provide them with labor remuneration as much as possible.

　　For key engineering projects and small and medium-sized agricultural and rural infrastructure projects implemented in the form of work-for-relief, the new version of the "Administrative Measures" does not put forward the above requirements. Such projects must first ensure project quality, progress and efficiency. On this basis, , fully tap the labor potential of the main project construction and subsidiary temporary construction, site service guarantee, post-construction management and maintenance, etc., organize as many local people as possible for employment and provide them with labor remuneration.

　　The proportion of labor service remuneration has been increased - the proportion of labor service remuneration for investment projects in the central budget of work-for-relief has increased from more than 15% of the original regulations to more than 30%.

　　Ding Desong, deputy director of the Development and Reform Bureau of Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, said that in recent years, Leishan County has tried its best to increase the proportion of labor remuneration in central funds while ensuring the quality of projects.

"In our latest work-for-relief project, the proportion of labor remuneration has reached 30.35%. Among them, the Fangxiang Township rice field and fish farming anti-seepage engineering construction project has absorbed 53 people and paid 376,500 yuan in labor remuneration, accounting for 376,500 yuan of project reimbursement. 37.65% of the funds.”

　　According to expert analysis, work-for-relief itself is a support policy that encourages and guides the masses to increase their income and become rich through honest labor, strengthen employment support for needy groups, and promote common prosperity.

For cash-for-work projects implemented using the national special fund for cash-for-work, increasing the proportion of labor remuneration reflects the original intention of this policy.

　　"Key engineering projects and small and medium-sized agricultural and rural infrastructure projects implemented in the form of work-for-relief use special funds from relevant departments, and are still managed by relevant departments in accordance with industry standards. It is not intended to turn it into a work-for-work project, so there is no rigid requirement on the proportion of its labor remuneration." Lin Qingning said.

　　More than just an increase in revenue

　　Relief with work brings more than just an increase in wage income.

　　In the new version of the "Administrative Measures", "skills training" is frequently mentioned, including work tasks such as employment skills training in the implementation of work-for-relief projects, and the local government coordinates relevant financial funds, social assistance funds, and corporate investment. support.

The location of key projects that implement work-for-relief projects should coordinate all kinds of qualified training funds and resources, make full use of project construction sites, machinery and equipment, etc., and adopt methods such as "training + on-the-job" to cooperate with construction units to carry out labor skills training and safety training. production training.

　　Li Qingbo introduced that in the process of implementing work-for-relief, Lushi County actively implemented the "training + employment" model, based on the reality of rural low-income groups, providing certain training subsidies, carrying out skill training, and replacing training with work. More than 3000 people.

　　"Through skills training, work-for-relief has further expanded the effectiveness of 'relief'." Lin Qingning believes that at present, on the basis of extensively organizing rural people to participate in project construction, many places are actively organizing migrant workers to participate in work-for-work training and labor skills training. Intensive pre-job training, some places targeting special groups such as low-skilled and weak laborers among migrant workers, carried out production skills training, etc., effectively improving the ability of rural low-income people to rely on labor to increase their income and become rich.

　　In addition to employment skills training, many places are actively exploring new relief models such as public welfare job development and asset income dividends, so that the central funds for work-for-relief can benefit the people who have been lifted out of poverty more directly, more extensively, and for a longer period of time.

　　"In the supporting infrastructure construction project of the 6,000-acre organic fruit base in Guandaokou Town, Lushi County, we have driven 810 households to increase their annual income by more than 11 million yuan by adopting methods such as land transfer, employment, and asset conversion and quantitative dividends. Since last year, we have It can also bring income of 1.06 million yuan to the collective economy of the village." Li Qingbo said.

　　Focusing on the new model, in the future, the investment in the central budget of work-for-relief will be mainly used to implement a number of small and medium-sized infrastructure construction projects, and to promote "public infrastructure construction + labor service remuneration + employment skills training + public welfare management and maintenance job development" and Comprehensive relief models such as "industrial development supporting infrastructure construction + labor remuneration distribution + employment skills training + asset conversion into shares and quantitative dividends" will further increase the proportion of labor remuneration payment and form a demonstration and driving effect.

　　"Relief with work has changed from a special poverty alleviation policy to a comprehensive assistance policy targeting underdeveloped areas and low-income populations, integrating employment promotion, infrastructure construction, emergency disaster relief, income distribution, and regional development." Lin Qingning said that local governments should increase overall planning and improve the efficiency of fund use.

At the same time, local governments can further innovate working mechanisms and expand relief models based on the development of local leading industries and rural construction needs, and timely summarize and extract practices and experience that can be replicated and promoted, so as to play a greater role in consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization.

　　Qiu Haifeng