The Delegates dialogue with the employees at the conference.

The conference was attended by the Customer Service Center, representatives from several units under Vietnam Social Security, leaders from the Nghe An provincial Social Security Office, leaders from the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of Nghe An province, representatives from the Nghe An provincial Labor Union, as well as over 200 delegates including personnel in charge of human resources and social insurance policies, grassroots trade union officials, and representatives of employees in industrial zones throughout Nghe An province.

According to Mrs. Duong Ngoc Anh, Deputy Director of Customer Service Center (VSS), over the past time, VSS has carried out various channels for counseling and supporting citizens and businesses regarding participation and benefits ẹnoyment of social insurance and health insurance policies through Telephone hotline, electronic information portal, and social media platforms (Zalo, Fanpage, etc.). In 2023, apart from dialogue and consultation conferences organized by local Social Security offices, based on the analysis of customer needs, VSS has selected 12 representative provinces and cities of different regions to conduct counseling and dialogue events.

As part of this events’ series, the consultation and dialogue conference in Nghe An province serves as a direct interaction platform to receive feedback and opinions from employees and employers regarding social, health and unemployment insurance policies; the service spirit and attitude of the provincial Social Security office staff; and the organizational processes,... Therefore, VSS will compile the opinions, make proposals, and recommendations to the Government and the National Assembly for the development of suitable social and health insurance policies to the needs and the desires of the people.

At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong, Deputy Chairman of the Nghệ An Provincial Labor Federation, shared: "The conference is one of the practical activities that brings about high effectiveness, aiming at a specific target audience, with persuasive dissemination and comprehensive information to employers and employees about the orientations, policies, and laws regarding social and health insurance, contributing to ensuring the legitimate rights of employees. In the coming time, the Provincial Labor Federation will enhance coordination with the provincial Social Security Office to further promote information, propaganda, and timely resolution of social and health insuarance policies, ensuring the rights of employees and thereby rapidly increasing the coverage of health insurance and social insurance participants in the province" emphasized Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong evaluated that in Nghệ An province, there are 374,019 people participating in social insurance, accounting for 22.26% of the labor force, and 2,870,092 people participating in health insurance, achieving a coverage rate of 92.25% of the population. Although these figures are not yet high, they demonstrate significant efforts from the entire political system and the Social Insurance Office in the province, as Nghệ An has faced many difficulties during the recent pandemic period. As an organization that has always accompanied the Social Security Agency in protecting the rights of employees in the past period, the Labor Federation has also received a lot of feedback from employees regarding these social insurance policies. It is worth noting that in the current phase, there are very few "complaints" from employees about the implementation of these policies or the agencies involved. This conference is a meaningful activity that timely addresses current issues, updating new legal documents recently issued to businesses and employees... In the context of difficulties in 2023, the Labor Federation is currently engaged in activities to support employees in reducing working hours, job losses. Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong suggested that "businesses should pay attention to employees because they are the main driving force for development. Particularly, they should advocate for limiting the one-time withdrawal of social insurance funds, considering the future lives of employees...".

During the conference, representatives from VSS informed some new points in the draft Law on Social Insurance (amendment), such as expanding the coverage to include household business owners, enterprise managers, and cooperative managers who do not receive salaries; adding maternity benefits to voluntary social insurance; reducing the minimum number of years of social insurance contributions from 20 years to 15 years to be eligible for pension benefits.

Employer Representatives presented difficulties and obstacles encountered during the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies

Nghe An Social Security office representative also provided information on the implementation of social insurance and health insurance policies in Nghe An province. They presented an overview and updates on new points and guidance on regulations related to social insurance, health insurance, and occupational accident insurance, including mandatory social insurance regimes that took effect from 2022 and 2023 for businesses. In which, the key points that need to be attention are the duration of labor contracts to determine social insurance participants, the roadmap for increasing the retirement age, the rights and responsibilities of enterprises according to Article 20 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, common violations at businesses, and the sanctions for violating social insurance and health insurance laws. They also discussed certain aspects of the draft Law on Social Insurance amendment.

The discussions were lively, opinions of employees and employers were addressed clearly and specifically by the delegates. The conference served as an important channel of information, receiving feedback from employees and employers regarding social insurance, health insurance, and occupational accident insurance policies, as well as the service spirit and attitude of the Social Security office and the implementation process. Based on the results of the discussion, the VSS compiled the opinions, then made proposals and recommendations to the Government and the National Assembly regarding the development of social and health insurance policies that are practical and meet the needs and desires of the People. As for the VSS system, it contributes to improving the operational process, enhancing the quality of services, and meeting the increasing demands of social, health, and occupational accident insurance participants, aiming to ensure the satisfaction of participants in these programs.

Overall pictures of Conference

On this occassion, VSS conducted surveys to gather opinions from the public and businesses on certain contents of the draft Law on Social Insurance amendment, which the Government plans to submit to the National Assembly in the upcoming session. Based on this, VSS will gather the opinions of the people to provide recommendations in the process of improving social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance policies.

According to the plan, from April to September 2023, VSS will organize nationwide dialogues, consultations, support, and policy discussions on social insurance and health insurance for employees and employers in industrial and export processing zones. Specifically, the program will be conducted in three regions, with four representative provinces chosen in each region, focusing on provinces with a high concentration of industrial and export processing zones. The Northern cluster includes Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, and Hung Yen; the Central cluster includes Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Dak Lak, and Khanh Hoa; and the Southern cluster includes Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An.