Company helps employees get home for holidays

Going home by train for Spring Festival can test the abilities of the able-bodied, but crowded conditions, combined with a lack of access to facilities for those with physical disabilities, pose even more challenges.

One company has tackled the problem by providing transport for its workers to ensure their journey home is as comfortable and as quick as possible.

Wilubo, based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, which makes cleaning products such as laundry detergents, has 261 workers with disabilities, accounting for 65 percent of its workforce. Their average monthly salary is about 2,600 yuan ($425).

The company has organized a fleet of vehicles to get these workers home for the festival.

Each vehicle will have a department leader and a medical care provider to accompany them on the journey home and back.

One of the workers at the company, Zhao Zhao, 27, has a growth hormone deficiency.

He found it difficult to find work until he entered a training school for two months in August 2010.

"After training, I got work with the company labeling products." Three years later, he leads a seven-man team.

The company provides more than just transport.

Upon arrival, the department leader will give a bonus to the parents, expressing thanks to the family for their children's hard work. Other gifts will also be given, such as rice and cooking oil to every family.

The transportation program is in its 10th year and more than 2,000 have availed themselves of the service.

A convoy of 12 vehicles, with more than 50 workers, left on Saturday morning heading to hometowns in Hebei as well as neighboring provinces like Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and Liaoning covering a combined distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.

Li Qingzhao, deputy manager of the company, said more needs to be done to cater to the needs of these workers such as ensuring barrier-free access in the production and living areas.

Their work ethic and determination is admirable and they are great workers, he said.

Contact the writer at zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn