Ministry enforces minimum wage law

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has asked non-State companies to submit reports on staff salaries to their respective labour departments to ensure that the new minimum wage is implemented by January 1.

The monthly minimum salary for workers in foreign-invested companies will increase to VND1.1 million-1.55 million (US$55-75), depending on the area of the country, from the current VND1 million-1.34 million ($50-67).

Domestic companies must raise salaries to VND830,000-1.35million ($41.5-67.5) from the current level of VND730,000-980,000 ($36.5-49).

All provinces and cities must apply the wage increases by January 1. In addition, 28 localities in four provinces and HCM City will add further increases by July 1, according to the new regulations.

At a workshop last week, Tong Thi Minh, head of the ministry's Labour and Salary Department, said all companies must review job contracts, pay grades and their payroll before implementing the new minimum wage.

Pham Minh Huan, Deputy Minister said companies should not reduce allowances or benefits for employees.

Minh also asked local trade unions and local Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs departments to supervise companies' implementation of the minimum salary increase.

The departments will submit the companies' reports to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs by the beginning of the second quarter next year. — VNS

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Conference to examine issues in mixed marriages

HCM CITY — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has approved a plan to organise a conference that will review different aspects of marriages between Vietnamese nationals and foreigners.

The conference will be held the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in co-ordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Viet Nam Women's Union and the Ho Chi Minh Youth Communist League.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho will host such a conference in the first quarter of next year.

Thousands of women from the region have, over the last decade, been married to foreign nationals, most often through illegal brokering services. In many cases, the women have had to suffer abusive treatment at the hands of their husbands and in-laws.

More than 300 delegates from across the country are expected to attend the meeting.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said the conference aimed to analyse the phenomenon of arranged marriages with foreign nationals and discuss measures to prevent and stop the negative fall out from such liasions. — VNS

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Vietnam leads region in gender gap eradication

Vietnam is evaluated as the best performer in Southeast Asia in terms of eradicating gender gap over the past 20 years, said Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Ngan, who doubles as Head of the Vietnamese National Committee for the Advancement of Women, delivered the remark at a seminar “Enhancing women’s position in development and international integration” which was held in the central province of Khanh Hoa on Dec. 4.

The minister said Vietnam ’s gender development index (GDI) climbed to 0.732 in 2009, ranking 94 out of the surveyed 155 nations, from 0,537 – the 72 nd among the 130 countries worldwide in 2005.

The number of female National Assembly deputies currently accounts for almost 26 percent, making Vietnam top the list of eight Southeast Asian nations that have parliaments and 4 th in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of female parliamentations, Ngan added.

To enhance women’s position, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director in Vietnam Setsuko Yamazaki suggested Vietnam improve the awareness and political will of women so that they could engage in the leadership.

Vietnam should also encourage localities to bring national gender equality policies into life and build up the capacity for women by organising training courses.

Meanwhile, Cao Tran Quoc Hai, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged the government to complete the legal system and concerned policies, and establish specialised agencies to implement and monitor gender equality.

The seminar, co-hosted by the Vietnamese National Committee for the Advancement of Women, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP, saw the participation of almost 50 delegates and the ambassadors of Finland, Ireland, Canada and Laos to Vietnam./.

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Vocational training for the disabled still out of reach

HA NOI — About 93 per cent of the disabled have not received job training, Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry figures show. And the Association for the Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans estimates that as many as 2.5 of 5.3 million disabled need work.

Ha Noi hosts annual job fair for disabled The Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry and 20 employers from Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Hoa Binh and Quang Tri Provinces held the yearly job fair for the disabled in Ha Noi last week.

"Although there are many policies for employers to hire the disabled, it's difficult for people with disabilities to find work," said the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry's Social Protection Department deputy director Nguyen Xuan Lap.

Employers who hire more than 30 per cent of disabled workers will pay neither business income tax nor land when the People with Disability Law becomes effective as of January 1, 2011.

The National Assembly approved the legislation in June. But some employers shied away from the disabled and others did not believe in their abilities, said deputy director Lap. And some disabled did not believe in themselves or lacked confidence about seeking work.

It meant the disabled had little chance of a job, he said.

The inability of the disabled to find work showed that policy-makers had to design more effective programmes for them to enter the labour market.

"We need co-operation among authorised agencies, employers and community to create more chances for the disabled to find jobs," he said.

Vocational Training Centre for disabled children director Tran Duyen Hai said because employers in the garment industry found it difficult to recruit labour, his sewing workshop had 20-30 disabled children at each of its courses. The centre's target was for 40-50 disabled children. — VNS

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VN attends South-South development expo

A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam attended the South-South Development Exposition at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from Nov. 22-26.

Attracting over 60 delegations from the ILO member countries, the event would be a venue for developing countries and their partners including donor agencies and international organisations to showcase achievements in their South-South development cooperation.

Seminars on social welfare, sustainable employment, food security, climate change, environment, HIV/AIDS, global health and education were also held.

At a seminar on social welfare and sustainable employment, the delegates called for more proper social policies to tackle major challenges in alarming rate of unemployment, child labour, gender inequality, unsafe working conditions and unstable income.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, head of the Institute of Labour, Science and Social Affairs presented initiatives towards the implementation of Social Welfare Strategy in 2011-2020 in Vietnam.

The initiatives prioritises the poor, people living in disadvantaged areas, ethnic minorities, the unemployed, the disabled, the children, the elderly and disaster victims, helping them live above the poverty line, enjoy benefits of social welfare policies and socio-political stability./.

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VN, RoK extend MoU on labour export cooperation

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have extended the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on supplying and receiving Vietnamese guest workers under the employment permit system (EPS) programme.

At the signing ceremony in Seoul on August 29, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa emphasised that the extension of the MoU for two more years and the MoU on cooperation in vocational training, social insurance and labour safety that has been extended since late May 2009 are legal foundations and create conditions for a large number of Vietnamese workers to work in the RoK, thus further boosting the two countries’ labour cooperation.

Hoa said the ministry highly evaluated the RoK’s labour market, considering it an important market for Vietnamese workers.

According to the deputy minister, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs has decided to set up a vocational training school for Vietnamese workers before sending to the RoK.

He said Vietnam hoped that the RoK Government and its Labour Ministry would join in training Vietnamese workers to help them get familiar with the lifestyle and daily activities in the RoK.

Deputy Labour Minister of the RoK Lee Chae Pil said that Vietnam now tops of the list of 15 nations in the RoK’s EPS programme.

Vietnamese workers are hardworking and skillful, he said, adding that there are more than 55,000 Vietnamese workers are working at over 1,500 RoK small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to promoting the development of business activities of the RoK enterprises and its economy at large.

He went on to stress that his government is not only exerting efforts to protect the Vietnamese workers’ benefits at the country’s workshops but also paying attention to improving the living conditions for Vietnamese workers.

Lee highlighted the job festival that took place in Vietnam last October where RoK businesses and Vietnamese workers met one another.

He confirmed that the RoK would do its utmost to help train Vietnamese workers before entering the country./.

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Ministry proposes increasing poverty line nationwide

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is proposing to raise the poverty line in both urban and rural areas.

According to a proposal that has been submitted to the Prime Minister, the new poverty line for people in urban areas would be a monthly income of VND500,000 (US$26) and for rural areas VND400,000 ($21).

The current poverty line is at VND260,000 ($13.6) in urban areas and VND200,000 ($10.5) in rural areas.

Ngo Truong Thi, deputy director of the Social Protection Department of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the poverty line had to be regularly readjusted.

Every year, the ministry re-evaluates the poverty threshold, said Thi. Adjustments to the poverty line can change the number of people eligible for the government's social welfare policies.

Thi said the nation's poverty reduction programs had gained positive results, but keeping people out of poverty was difficult.

The new poverty line, if applied, would increase the number of poor households in the country from 11 percent to 15 percent, rising to about 3.3 million households.

The proposed change to the poverty line has taken into account people's basic spending needs, prioritize poor people in remote and mountainous areas and be comparable with poverty lines across the region and around the world.

Thi said budget allocations for poverty reduction programs, based on the new poverty line, would be increased by VND5.7 trillion ($300 million) from next year. Funds allocated for the program from 2006 to 2010 totaled at VND43 trillion ($2.3 billion).

The proposed poverty line, if approved by the Government, will be considered the minimum level. Localities can adjust their own figure to a higher level in a way that suits the local conditions.

Currently, there are nine provinces and cities applying a poverty line that is higher than the national standard. These provinces and cities, which enjoy higher living standards than in other parts of the country, include Binh Duong, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Long An provinces and Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the poverty reduction program must help poor families to secure good jobs rather than simply handing out welfare payments.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam affirmed that the program would not only ensure poor households of both basic spending on foods but also accommodation, health care and education.

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Ministry proposes increasing poverty line nationwide

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is proposing to raise the poverty line in both urban and rural areas.

According to a proposal that has been submitted to the Prime Minister, the new poverty line for people in urban areas would be a monthly income of 500,000 VND (26 USD)) and for rural areas 400,000 VND (21 USD)). The current poverty line is at VND260,000 (13.6 USD)) in urban areas and 200,000 VND (10.5 USD)) in rural areas.

Ngo Truong Thi, deputy director of the Social Protection Department of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the poverty line had to be regularly readjusted.

Every year, the ministry re-evaluates the poverty threshold, said Thi. Adjustments to the poverty line can change the number of people eligible for the government's social welfare policies.

Thi said the nation's poverty reduction programmes had gained positive results, but keeping people out of poverty was difficult.

The new poverty line, if applied, would increase the number of poor households in the country from 11 percent to 15 percent, rising to about 3.3 million households.

The proposed change to the poverty line has taken into account people's basic spending needs, prioritise poor people in remote and mountainous areas and be comparable with poverty lines across the region and around the world.

Thi said budget allocations for poverty reduction programmes, based on the new poverty line, would be increased by 5.7 trillion VND (300 million USD) from next year. Funds allocated for the programme from 2006 to 2010 totalled at 43 trillion VND (2.3 billion USD)).

The proposed poverty line, if approved by the Government, will be considered the minimum level. Localities can adjust their own figure to a higher level in a way that suits the local conditions.

Currently, there are nine provinces and cities applying a poverty line that is higher than the national standard. These provinces and cities, which enjoy higher living standards than in other parts of the country, include Binh Duong, Da Nang , Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Long An provinces and HCM City and Hanoi .

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the poverty reduction programme must help poor families to secure good jobs rather than simply handing out welfare payments.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam affirmed that the programme would not only ensure poor households of both basic spending on foods but also accommodation, health care and education./.

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Raising the bar

People register for loans from Ba Be District's Social Policy Bank in the northern province of Bac Kan. The country will have 3.3 million poor households under a proposal to adjust the poverty line. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HA NOI — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is proposing to raise the poverty line in both urban and rural areas.

According to a proposal that has been submitted to the Prime Minister, the new poverty line for people in urban areas would be a monthly income of VND500,000 (US$26) and for rural areas VND400,000 ($21). The current poverty line is at VND260,000 ($13.6) in urban areas and VND200,000 ($10.5) in rural areas.

Ngo Truong Thi, deputy director of the Social Protection Department of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the poverty line had to be regularly readjusted.

Every year, the ministry re-evaluates the poverty threshold, said Thi. Adjustments to the poverty line can change the number of people eligible for the government's social welfare policies.

Thi said the nation's poverty reduction programmes had gained positive results, but keeping people out of poverty was difficult.

The new poverty line, if applied, would increase the number of poor households in the country from 11 per cent to 15 per cent, rising to about 3.3 million households.

The proposed change to the poverty line has taken into account people's basic spending needs, prioritise poor people in remote and mountainous areas and be comparable with poverty lines across the region and around the world.

Thi said budget allocations for poverty reduction programmes, based on the new poverty line, would be increased by VND5.7 trillion ($300 million) from next year. Funds allocated for the programme from 2006 to 2010 totalled at VND43 trillion ($2.3 billion).

The proposed poverty line, if approved by the Government, will be considered the minimum level. Localities can adjust their own figure to a higher level in a way that suits the local conditions.

Currently, there are nine provinces and cities applying a poverty line that is higher than the national standard. These provinces and cities, which enjoy higher living standards than in other parts of the country, include Binh Duong, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Long An provinces and HCM City and Ha Noi

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the poverty reduction programme must help poor families to secure good jobs rather than simply handing out welfare payments.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam affirmed that the programme would not only ensure poor households of both basic spending on foods but also accommodation, health care and education. — VNS

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Vietnam, Central Africa cooperate in vocational training

Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) shakes hands with Kitichi-Kouamba, Minister and Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Central African Republic, in Hanoi on August 21, 2010.

Photo: VNA

Vietnam and the Central African Republic (CAR) have agreed to cooperate in mining and building a pilot vocational training school of high quality in CAR.

The agreement was signed by Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Kitichi-Kouamba, Minister and Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the CAR, in Hanoi Saturday.

Under the agreement, Central African students and teachers will go to study in Vietnam’s vocational schools and Vietnamese experts will be sent to CAR to help improve technical capacity and operations of agencies in charge of national strategies on the vocational and technical training.

The two sides extended their wish that the agreement would be the first step marking cooperation between the two nations.

The MoLISA plans to send a delegation for a fact-finding tour in CAR.

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Labour exports may miss target

Jobseekers discuss employment opportunities at a jobs fair organised by the HCM City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. — VNA/VNS Photo The Anh

HCM CITY — The country is unlikely to meet the target of sending 85,000 guest workers abroad this year due to several problems facing the labour market, including reducing demand, the Department of Overseas Labour has said.

Only 37,068 workers went overseas in the first half of the year, or 43 per cent of the year's target, it said.

It included just 1,500 to South Korea, the country's most reliable market, compared to nearly 4,300 in the same period last year.

Labour recruitment companies said the global recession, labour policy changes in export markets, and risks involved in recruiting guest workers had all taken a toll on business.

The large amount of security they had to deposit as guarantee to enable workers to borrow from banks was also affecting their activities, company officials said.

Nguyen Xuan Vui, director of recruiter Air Services Supply Joint Stock Company (Airserco), said most banks demanded a deposit of 5-10 per cent of the loan amount.

Only in the central province of Thanh Hoa didn't banks have this requirement, he said.

Out of 40 countries and territories that have so far taken in Vietnamese guest workers, the companies are only focusing on nine markets now: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Libya.

If prompt remedial measures are not taken, the target cannot be reached this year or next, the companies have warned.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa promised comprehensive solutions for the problems.

The ministry would hold consultations on sending guest workers to the Middle East in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands, he said. — VNS

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