Enterprises lauded for work on HIV/AIDS prevention

HA NOI — Vietnamese enterprises needed to take preventive action against the spread of HIV/AIDS before the negative effects of the epidemic could wreak havoc on the labour force which has happened in other developing countries.

Chu Quoc An, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's HIV/AIDS Prevention Department made the statement at a ceremony to honour ten private Vietnamese enterprises for blazing a trail in promoting HIV/AIDS workplace prevention programmes and employment support for people living with HIV.

Statistics from the International Labour Organisation show that more than two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are of working age. In South Africa, 25 per cent of the labour force is reported to be infected with HIV/AIDS.

As of June, 176,500 people were reportedly living with HIV in Viet Nam, 80 per cent of whom were in the 20-39 age group, key members of Viet Nam's current and future labour force.

Lesson learnt from other countries have shown that profit and productivity are negatively impacted by rampant cases of HIV/AIDS among a country's labour force.

The honoured enterprises were selected from 130 enterprises participating in a five-year project to encourage HIV/AIDS workplace-prevention. The project began in 2008 with funds from the US President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief in partnership with the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and its subsidiary the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC).

Selected enterprises were recognised for demonstrating excellence in committing funds and effort to implementing HIV/AIDS workplace prevention policies, organising HIV/AIDS education activities among employees and providing free condoms. They also implemented non-discriminatory policies regarding HIV/AIDS, recruited people living with HIV (PLHIV), and committed funds to care and support activities for PLHIV in the community.

Jonathan Ross, deputy director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Office of Public Health, said the 10 enterprises represented an impressive range of services and industries from shipbuilding to construction, garments, transportation, steel and coal.

As of August, about 90 per cent of all employees in the enterprises had received information on HIV prevention and created a working environment free of stigmas against the 125 employees living with HIV and recovering drug users.

Nguyen Viet Thanh, representative of Ha Tu Coal Company in the northern province of Quang Ninh, one of the honoured enterprises, said the company's managers at all levels understood the importance of educating and raising awareness among their workers about HIV/AIDS given the fact that Quang Ninh was a hot spot for social evils, notably drug addiction and prostitutes.

Thanh, whose company employs 3,200 workers, said: "Our consistent policy is to always offer another chance to employees who are addicted to drugs as long as they complete drug rehabilitation."

As of now, Thanh's company had sent 76 workers to the drug rehabilitation centre and rehired 42 who had successfully given up drugs. It also had an eight-member consulting team to provide employees with relevant prevention information.

Nguyen Duc Chinh, a 27-year-old former drug user and employee of the Dai Viet Garment Company in HCM City, another honoured enterprise, said he was lucky to be hired by the company because he would have a regular income and the feeling of being part of the community again.

"Everyone is very helpful and friendly. I haven't suffered from any stigma's in the workplace," he said.

General Secretary Pham Gia Tuc of VCCI said: "HIV/AIDS workplace prevention helps enterprises not only to protect their employees but also steadily develop and increase their competitiveness in the current market-oriented and international integration environment."

VWEC Chairwoman Tran Thi Thuy appealed for greater participation by the private sector in the form of stronger commitment and active participation in different support initiatives for PLHIV and recovering drug users for economic improvement to stabilise lives and encourage reintegration into the community.

The US$3 million project has provided technical assistance to more than 130 VCCI-affiliated enterprises in implementing HIV workplace policies for 128,000 employees and employment support for 456 PLHIV and high risk individuals. — VNS

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Firms avoid environmental protection fees in HCM City

Many enterprises in HCM City have become debtors of the Municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, not paying charges fixed by the city, a report says.

According to the sub-department, as of this month, more than 30 enterprises had not paid environment protection charges of about 3 billion VND (154,000 USD) for wastewater treatment alone.

Tran Ngoc Dinh, an official of the sub-department, said environmental protection charges had been collected since 2004 under Prime Minister's Decree 67.

However many enterprises in the city were still trying to avoid their obligations, he said.

Some of the enterprises had evaded payments for several years, Dinh said.

The Phan Muoi Company in Hoc Mon district, for instance, owes environmental protection fees of 51 million VND (2,600 USD), but to date, it has paid nothing, he said.

The Hau Sanh Company in Tan Binh District owed the department 55 million VND (2,800 USD), and while the Binh Trung Dong Company in district 2 owed 57 million VND (2,900 USD).

"We have many times sent warning letters to the enterprises. We have also discussed this issue several times with them. However, the situation has not changed," Dinh said.

While some of the establishments had closed, many were still in operation.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, deputy director of the municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, attributed the evasion to a lack of serious punitive measures.

The sub-department was tasked to collect environmental protection charges from local enterprises but it did not have the authority to penalise violations, Hoang said.

Current environmental protection charges are very low, accounting for a small part of the total costs the city has to pay for processing wastewater and improving the environment, he said.

Enterprises in the city have to pay just 250 VND for one kilo of contaminated water that exceeds chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) specifications, he said.

The report shows that many enterprises that have not paid their environmental protection dues continue to discharge polluted water into the environment, but have not been penalised.

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Firms evade environmental protection fees in HCMC

A number of enterprises based in Ho Chi Minh City have become debtors of the Municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, not paying charges fixed by the city, a report says.

According to the sub-department, as of this month, more than 30 enterprises had not paid environment protection charges of about VND3 billion (US$154,000) for wastewater treatment alone.

Tran Ngoc Dinh, an official of the sub-department, said environmental protection charges had been collected since 2004 under Prime Minister's Decree 67.

However many enterprises in the city were still trying to avoid their obligations, he said.

Some of the enterprises had evaded payments for several years, Dinh said.

The Phan Muoi Company in Hoc Mon district, for instance, owes environmental protection fees of VND51 million ($2,600), but to date, it has paid nothing, he said.

The Hau Sanh Company in Tan Binh District owed the department VND55 million ($2,800), and while the Binh Trung Dong Company in district 2 owed VND57 million ($2,900).

"We have many times sent warning letters to the enterprises. We have also discussed this issue several times with them. However, the situation has not changed," Dinh said.

While some of the establishments had closed, many were still in operation.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, deputy director of the municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, attributed the evasion to a lack of serious punitive measures.

The sub-department was tasked to collect environmental protection charges from local enterprises but it did not have the authority to penalize violations, Hoang said.

Current environmental protection charges are very low, accounting for a small part of the total costs the city has to pay for processing wastewater and improving the environment, he said.

Enterprises in the city have to pay just VND250 for one kilo of contaminated water that exceeds chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) specifications, he said.

The report shows that many enterprises that have not paid their environmental protection dues continue to discharge polluted water into the environment, but have not been penalized.

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Firms ignore social insurance obligations

An employee of the Vinatex Group is examined and treated under insurance at the group's Textile and Garment Hospital. A number of enterprises are choosing profits over paying worker benefits. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

THANH HOA — Most enterprises in the central province of Thanh Hoa have failed to pay various types of insurance for their workers, according to the provincial Social Insurance Agency.

As many as 79 per cent of the province's enterprises had failed to make insurance payments for workers since the beginning of the year, said Do Hoa, manager of the collection division at Thanh Hoa Social Insurance.

Hoa said both small and large companies had been neglecting workers insurance payments, with big businesses such as Thanh Hoa Shipping Industry Company owing nearly VND2 billion (US$105,260) in workers insurance payments.

Other insurance laggards included the Viglacera Bim Son Joint-stock Company, which owes VND1.5 billion ($78,940), and the K2 Joint-stock Company, owing VND2.5 billion ($131,570), Hoa said.

Workers at enterprises that do not pay social insurance risk being not able to get sick pay, maternity and paternity leave or compensation after suffering workplace accidents.

Director of the K2 Joint-stock Company Pham Van Luc said the company had fallen behind on workers insurance payments due to a lack of funds to complete major projects.

"When the company begins any big project, it has to complete a number of procedures to borrow capital from banks," said Luc.

"We do not have enough time to carry out all these procedures because projects must be completed on time, so we temporarily use insurance money for the projects."

Luc added that his company would pay workers insurance as soon as possible, right after it receives profits from completed projects.

Thanh Hoa Social Insurance's Do Hoa said that by September, enterprises in the provinces had owed insurance worth a total of VND147 billion ($7.7 million).

"Every year the provincial Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department fines hundreds of enterprises that violate labour regulations, however, the punishment is not strong enough," he said.

According to regulations, enterprises owing insurance can only be fined for the offence once a year, and the fine cannot exceed VND20 million (US$1,052).

In addition, many employers do not draft clear labour contracts and fail to provide accurate payrolls for their workers, making collection of insurance extremely difficult.

Last year the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs fined more than 50 enterprises, with the fines totalling VND117 million ($6,150), Hoa said.

"This year Thanh Hoa Social Insurance will sue enterprises that owe too much social insurance," he said.

However, Hoa said suing enterprises was the last resort as many cities and provinces, including Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Binh Duong and HCM City, found that launching legal action against firms committing these violations met many obstacles.

"Procedures to sue a firm are too complicated and include many stages, such as checking, inspection, administrative fines and launching a lawsuit is the last stage," he said.

When all these procedures are completed, courts may still take a long time to resolve lawsuits, especially if the enterprises involved in lawsuits risk becoming bankrupt.

Deputy chairman of the Thanh Hoa Labour Federation Nguyen Quoc Huy said that the provincial Social Insurance agency should focus more on raising awareness about social insurance among both employers and employees.

"They should hold talks between workers and enterprise leaders to clear up any misunderstandings about insurance," he said.

Huy said authorities managing social insurance should also strengthen inspections to discover violations in a timely manner and prevent enterprises from leaving their insurance debt for a long time.

The federation will also strengthen the work of enterprise trade unions and join hands with related bodies to report violations to relevant authorities.

"Judicial bodies should increase the level of punishment, or withdraw work permits from enterprises that violate regulations in order to ensure workers' rights," said Huy. — VNS

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Decentralisation causes confusion

HCM CITY — The decentralisation process in Viet Nam, particularly in allowing provinces to issue investment licences, has created administrative vacuums and sowed confusion among both officials and enterprises, speakers said at a seminar in HCM City yesterday.

The Government's management agencies should make policies governing business activities more transparent and widen enterprises' access to information, they said.

Many enterprises ran into inconsistencies among functional offices when they faced a problem and needed guidance to resolve it.

Prof Nguyen Mai, president of the Viet Nam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said a major cause of the problem was the lack of uniformity in viewpoints among policy-making bodies at different levels.

"To serve their own localities' benefits, many of provincial administrations broke regulations, and thus the unity of the legal system as whole was broken, creating unfair competition," he said.

Nguyen Dinh Luong, former head of the Vietnamese mission negotiating the US –Viet Nam Bilateral Trade Agreement, added that along with the decentralisation, guidance from higher levels reduced and in many cases, was not clear.

This was made worse by lower level authorities instituting incomprehensible administrative procedures that spoiled good policies, he added.

A mechanism should be established for accessing information in a transparent manner from State agencies, said Tran Huu Huynh, head of the legal division at the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The seminar, titled "Viet Nam's economy: opportunities and challenges after the global financial crisis" was jointly organised by the Vietnam Investment Review Group and VAFIE. — VNS

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