“Mom and Dad, I've got on the bus and I will get home at about 11 p.m.” At 8:00 a.m. on January 12, Zhang, an employee from Henan of Tropical Food Manufacturing (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. located in the United Industrial Community of Qijiashan Street, spoke excitedly with his parents in hometown, “The company chartered buses to send us back, you can rest assured.”

These days, there are buses to Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi and other places every day in the Tropical's factory, and the migrant workers who go home for the Spring Festival wait here with large and small bags. Since it was put into production in 2004, in order to make the migrant workers go home smoothly, the company organized special buses to send the migrant workers home for free every year for the Spring Festival. This year is the 18th year.

“The baggage was packed up three days ago, but not much, because I would come back to work after the festival. This time back home, I brought some Ningbo specialties and festival goods issued by the company to my relatives.” said Ms. Li, an employee from Shaoyang, Hunan who enjoyed the free charter point-to-point transfer like Zhang, “The fellow-villagers are envious of me, I don't need to buy a ticket or go to the station. I can get on the bus directly in the unit.”

It is reported that there were 8 buses carrying 370 migrant workers on the way home. After the festival, the company will also organize special buses to take them back, provide the migrant workers with “factory door to bus door, bus door to home” safety assurance, so that they can go home happily for the Spring Festival, and return to work safely.

“The company currently has 450 employees and 80% of whom are from other provinces. Most of them come from Henan, Anhui, Hunan and other places. For safety and epidemic prevention and control, we choose bus charter to ensure that employees arrive at home and return to work on time.” said Zhang Teng, deputy general manager of the company, “Insisting on sending employees back home every Spring Festival not only facilitates the employees, but also enhances their sense of belonging and identity, and makes the enterprise retain more people. We will continue to do so.” (Reporter Li Ping, Correspondents Cao Lu and Wang Yanhong)