The conference was organised to discuss, consult, support and answer questions related to social and health insurance policies for employers and employees in industrial zones in the northern province of Bac Giang.

The questions include settlement of maternity benefits, sickness benefits, policies to support employees, severance allowance, social insurance for foreign employees, policies for employees infected with COVID-19, procedures to participate in social insurance of enterprises, as well as problems in using VssID – the digital social insurance application.

The conference was attended by representatives of Viet Nam Social Security, Bac Giang Social Security Office, 80 local employers and 200 employees working in local industrial zones in the province.

Speaking at the conference, Duong Ngoc Anh, deputy director of Viet Nam Social Security’s Customer Care and Support Service Centre, said that the conference aims to promptly support, answer and solve problems for employees and employers in the process of participating and enjoying social and health insurance policies.

The conference also aims to listen to comments and improve the service quality of the insurance sector, she said.

Thereby, it helps to affirm that the policies of social and health insurance are the main pillar, playing an important role in taking care, protecting and developing people for social progress and justice, she said.

It is an important factor for the sustainable development of the country, she added.

“Today, Viet Nam Social Security held a dialogue in Bac Giang Province to listen to problems related to the social insurance and health insurance policies from employees and employers and fix the problems so that the policies will be growingly improved,” she said.

This is also an opportunity for the sector to listen to the thoughts, aspirations and suggestions of employees and employers about the quality of service and customer care of the sector, she said.

Then the sector will continue improving the service quality to meet the demand of social and health participants, she said.

According to Anh, the social and health insurance policies have been improved.

Specifically, the system of social insurance and health insurance policies has been formed synchronously and adjusted appropriately with international practices; and coverage has been expanded, she said.

The social and health insurance policies, which have been operated on the basic principle of "pay-for-benefit", have created an important breakthrough in equality for employees, she said.

At that time, all employees working in different economic sectors, careers and localities can participate and enjoy the benefits of the social and health insurance policies, she said.

Besides, the scope of social and health insurance participants has been constantly expanding, attracting millions of employees working in different economic sectors, creating trust for employees and contributing to stable production and business, she said.

Also at the conference, the Viet Nam Social Security and Bac Giang Social Security Office introduced new regulations on social and health insurance, which came into effect from 2022 and 2023; rights and responsibilities of enterprises towards employees; new regulations on the collection and payment of social and health insurance; and new points in the draft revised Law on Social Insurance.

As scheduled, between April and September, the Viet Nam Social Security will organise dialogues to consult, support and answer questions on social and health insurance policies for employees and employers in industrial zones and processing zones across the country.

The dialogues will take place in three regions (each region chooses four representative provinces where there are many industrial and processing zones).

In the northern provinces, the dialogues will be held in Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and Hung Yen.

In the central provinces, the dialogues will be held in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa.

In the southern localities, the dialogues will be held in HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An.

Accordingly, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requests the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Provincial Management Board of Industrial Zones, the People's Committees of districts, the city, related sectors and units to strengthen grasping the labor recruitment needs of businesses in the province to have timely and effective support solutions. Before July 22, 2023, units shall issue and send documents to the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of provinces and cities (from Nghe An onwards) to request support, information and propaganda about the recruitment needs of businesses in Bac Giang province; direct Employment Service Centers to coordinate with the Employment Service Center of Bac Giang Province in organizing the supply-demand connection and labor recruitment for businesses.

The Provincial Employment Service Center cooperates with businesses and the Employment Service Centers of provinces and cities to organize online trading sessions to expand the connection between labor supply and demand.

The Provincial Management Board of Industrial Zones regularly captures and summarizes the labor recruitment needs of businesses in industrial zones; coordinates with the Provincial Employment Service Center, the People's Committees of districts and the city in providing employment information of businesses to propagate to workers needing to know and register for recruitment. At the same time, it is recommended that businesses send representatives to participate in job trading sessions organized by the Provincial Employment Service Center to inform employees about contents related to recruitment and remuneration policies of businesses.