Afternoon of September 24: At the National Assembly House, continuing the 37th session, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly gave its opinion on the draft amended Employment Law. Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Nguyen Thi Thanh, chaired the session.      

Enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of state management in the employment sector

Presenting the draft at the session, Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said the proposal to draft an amended Employment Law stemmed from the need to institutionalize the 2013 Constitution, the Party guidelines, and the State policies on human resource development, employment, the labor market, and unemployment insurance reform, as stated in the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party, Resolution 28-NQ/TW dated May 23, 2018, on social insurance reform, and Resolution 42-NQ/TW dated November 24, 2023, from the 8th meeting of the 13th Central Committee, concerning the continuous renewal and improvement of social policies to meet the needs of national construction and defense in the new era, along with other related resolutions and directives.

The amendment of the law ensures consistency and coherence within the legal system, especially concerning newly revised laws (such as the 2019 Labor Code, the 2020 Residence Law, the 2020 Law on Vietnamese Workers Abroad under Contracts, and the 2024 Social Insurance Law). It also aligns with standards, practices, and commitments in the employment sector that Vietnam has joined, such as the United Nations Conventions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Rights of the Child, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other international commitments Vietnam is a part of.

According to Minister Dao Ngoc Dung, the law amendment will address existing shortcomings regarding employment support, labor market information, employment services, vocational skill development, skill certification, unemployment insurance, and labor registration and management. It will also enhance state management capacity and efficiency in the employment sector, helping to adapt to the aging population, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and issues related to sustainable employment and labor force management.

Draft Examination Report

Presenting the preliminary examination report, Nguyen Thuy Anh, Chairwoman of the Social Affairs Committee, stated that the drafting committee had adhered to the four policies already approved by the National Assembly. The draft law aligns with the Party guidelines, the Constitution regulations and spirit, and ensures consistency and coherence within the legal system while meeting the relevant international agreements. The draft files met the required elements according to the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents. However, the Standing Committee of the Social Affairs Committee noted that the quality of component reports needs further revision, supplementation, and completion. The implementation summary report of the law and the policy impact assessment lacked comprehensive data, failing to fully justify and persuade regarding the proposed amendments. There was also insufficient assessment of the impact on the state budget and the unemployment insurance fund when implementing these policies.

Additionally, the Committee highlighted that some policies previously enacted in the law but not yet implemented are still included without providing fundamental solutions to address the recognized inadequacies. Some provisions aim to address the digital transformation and socio-economic development but remain declarative and lack feasibility. Some parts of the draft law do not ensure practical viability and fail to provide enough regulation to meet the real demands of labor management