Beijing: When zuo Having tested positive for Covid-19 while working as a cleaner at one of Shanghai’s biggest quarantine centres, he was hopeful before he could pick up the mop and start earning again.
But even after four months have passed, she’s still struggling to get her job back – one of the scores of recoveries. covid Labor rights activists and health experts say zero-Covid is a widespread form of discrimination in China.
Using snap lockdowns and mass testing, China is the last major economy still chasing the goal of completely eliminating the virus.
Those who test positive, as well as their contacts, are sent to central quarantine facilities, while a flare-up at a factory could halt production.
Rights groups say the strict rules are feeding discrimination related to Covid and locking out thousands of people from China’s already bleak job market – with migrant workers and youth hit hardest.
“People are afraid they might contract the virus from us, so they turned us away,” said Zuo, who gave his last name out of fear of retribution for speaking to AFP.
,employers Check out the COVID testing history going back several months during an interview.”
Jin Dongyan of Hong Kong University’s School of Biomedical Sciences said China’s strict containment measures have stigmatized not only recovered patients, but also their families, neighbors, friends and even frontline healthcare workers .
“It is unscientific to think that people who were once infected will continue to carry the virus and remain infectious for a long time after they have recovered,” he told AFP.
“Because of the lack of awareness, some people fear that people who have been infected are more likely to be re-infected, but in fact the opposite is true.”
Zuo is now fighting a court battle with her employer, who has refused to pay her wages since she became ill, and who cites her disease history to prevent her from returning to work.
Her employer, a services company called Shanghai Yuanmao BPO, declined to comment, citing a pending court case.
– ‘Treats like a virus’ – He Yuxiu is a Chinese social media influencer who goes by a pseudonym and was living in Ukraine until the Russian invasion.
She fled the war and returned home, then found a job as a Russian language teacher in northern China’s Hebei province, relieved by leaving her troubles behind.
But when her school learned that she had been infected with COVID-19 while living in Ukraine, she was fired.
“I never thought I’d lose my first job because of this,” she said in a video posted on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
“Why should we be treated like a virus when we’ve defeated it?”
Stigma is widespread – job advertisements for factory workers in Shanghai last month said applicants with a history of Covid-19 infection would be refused work.
The story of a young woman who spent weeks in a toilet at Shanghai’s Hongqiao railway station went viral last month because she was unable to find work or returned to her village because of the stigma of being infected.
And a theater in the southern Chinese city of Foshan was forced to apologize after a notice banning the entry of recovered patients sparked a public backlash.
– ‘Little sheep people’ – Beijing’s National Health Commission and Human Resources Ministry last month banned employers from discriminating against recovered COVID patients, while Premier li keqiang Strict punishment has been demanded for those who break the rules.
But job seekers and workers are skeptical.
Factories in Shanghai continue to refuse to hire recovered workers even after city announces stricter anti-discrimination rules, employment agent wang Tao said, because they fear mass outbreaks or health oversight.
“Some factories give different excuses despite the shortage of workers,” Wang said.
“But those who have been turned down have tested positive in the past.”
AFP contacted eight manufacturers named by Chinese state media for their involvement in discriminatory practices – including iPhone maker Foxconn – but declined to comment.
Aidan Chou, a researcher at the rights group China Labor Bulletin, said, “It is very difficult for workers to defend their rights because most employers present different excuses and it is difficult to prove that labor law was violated in these cases.” Has gone.”
“It is important for labor unions to step in. But many small and medium factories don’t even have one.”
Those who have tested positive are often referred to on Chinese social media as “little sheepdogs”. In Mandarin, the words “positive” and “sheep” are pronounced the same way.
“It is very difficult for recovered patients to go back to our normal lives,” said Shanghai-based cleaner Zuo.
“No matter where we go, our infection history will follow us like a dark shadow.”
But even after four months have passed, she’s still struggling to get her job back – one of the scores of recoveries. covid Labor rights activists and health experts say zero-Covid is a widespread form of discrimination in China.
Using snap lockdowns and mass testing, China is the last major economy still chasing the goal of completely eliminating the virus.
Those who test positive, as well as their contacts, are sent to central quarantine facilities, while a flare-up at a factory could halt production.
Rights groups say the strict rules are feeding discrimination related to Covid and locking out thousands of people from China’s already bleak job market – with migrant workers and youth hit hardest.
“People are afraid they might contract the virus from us, so they turned us away,” said Zuo, who gave his last name out of fear of retribution for speaking to AFP.
,employers Check out the COVID testing history going back several months during an interview.”
Jin Dongyan of Hong Kong University’s School of Biomedical Sciences said China’s strict containment measures have stigmatized not only recovered patients, but also their families, neighbors, friends and even frontline healthcare workers .
“It is unscientific to think that people who were once infected will continue to carry the virus and remain infectious for a long time after they have recovered,” he told AFP.
“Because of the lack of awareness, some people fear that people who have been infected are more likely to be re-infected, but in fact the opposite is true.”
Zuo is now fighting a court battle with her employer, who has refused to pay her wages since she became ill, and who cites her disease history to prevent her from returning to work.
Her employer, a services company called Shanghai Yuanmao BPO, declined to comment, citing a pending court case.
– ‘Treats like a virus’ – He Yuxiu is a Chinese social media influencer who goes by a pseudonym and was living in Ukraine until the Russian invasion.
She fled the war and returned home, then found a job as a Russian language teacher in northern China’s Hebei province, relieved by leaving her troubles behind.
But when her school learned that she had been infected with COVID-19 while living in Ukraine, she was fired.
“I never thought I’d lose my first job because of this,” she said in a video posted on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
“Why should we be treated like a virus when we’ve defeated it?”
Stigma is widespread – job advertisements for factory workers in Shanghai last month said applicants with a history of Covid-19 infection would be refused work.
The story of a young woman who spent weeks in a toilet at Shanghai’s Hongqiao railway station went viral last month because she was unable to find work or returned to her village because of the stigma of being infected.
And a theater in the southern Chinese city of Foshan was forced to apologize after a notice banning the entry of recovered patients sparked a public backlash.
– ‘Little sheep people’ – Beijing’s National Health Commission and Human Resources Ministry last month banned employers from discriminating against recovered COVID patients, while Premier li keqiang Strict punishment has been demanded for those who break the rules.
But job seekers and workers are skeptical.
Factories in Shanghai continue to refuse to hire recovered workers even after city announces stricter anti-discrimination rules, employment agent wang Tao said, because they fear mass outbreaks or health oversight.
“Some factories give different excuses despite the shortage of workers,” Wang said.
“But those who have been turned down have tested positive in the past.”
AFP contacted eight manufacturers named by Chinese state media for their involvement in discriminatory practices – including iPhone maker Foxconn – but declined to comment.
Aidan Chou, a researcher at the rights group China Labor Bulletin, said, “It is very difficult for workers to defend their rights because most employers present different excuses and it is difficult to prove that labor law was violated in these cases.” Has gone.”
“It is important for labor unions to step in. But many small and medium factories don’t even have one.”
Those who have tested positive are often referred to on Chinese social media as “little sheepdogs”. In Mandarin, the words “positive” and “sheep” are pronounced the same way.
“It is very difficult for recovered patients to go back to our normal lives,” said Shanghai-based cleaner Zuo.
“No matter where we go, our infection history will follow us like a dark shadow.”