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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 |
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
