Proactive social security, solutions to help workers cope with risks
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Social Labor Science (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) - emphasized the important role of active social security in the market economy. The Party and State have gradually improved the institutions, creating conditions for workers to participate in social insurance (SI) and unemployment insurance, helping them proactively respond to the risk of job loss, health decline, and old age.
Social security for all subjects
The right to participate in social insurance has been expanded for employees of all economic sectors; applying the type of "Supplementary Pension Insurance" to diversify insurance products and services and meet the needs of the people; policies to support social insurance contributions for employees participating in voluntary social insurance depending on socio-economic development conditions, State budget capacity in each period...
In particular, the authorities proactively integrate internationally in the field of social insurance through regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam who are subjects of compulsory social insurance participation; promoting the application of information technology, reforming administrative procedures to be public, transparent, and facilitating participation and enjoyment of social insurance regimes.
Unemployment insurance policies expand participants and supplement risk prevention policies for participants. In addition to performing the function of ensuring social security, partially compensating for employees' income when they lose their jobs or terminate their labor contracts, unemployment insurance is also a policy associated with policies to support job creation, vocational training, employment services... - Ms. Lan Huong said.
The coverage of occupational accident and disease insurance has been increased; social protection policies have been constantly supplemented and amended in accordance with the country's socio-economic development conditions, gradually approaching the trend of developing social assistance in the world.
Comprehensive support for the poor
To date, Vietnam has institutionalized the Party's viewpoints into relatively comprehensive poverty reduction policies to support the poor, poor households, and poor areas.
The Prime Minister has issued a series of decisions and documents related to poverty standards applicable to each period; approved socio-economic development programs for communes with special difficulties in mountainous ethnic minority areas at each period... In particular, the current main policies and measures for poverty reduction include: Regular poverty reduction policies (preferential credit; policies to support production, production land and afforestation; vocational training and job creation policies; housing and water policies; education-training policies; health policies...); poverty reduction programs (assistance programs for ethnic minority areas such as Program 135, Program 30a...).
Social assistance policies are implemented promptly, adjusted and supplemented in the direction of expanding beneficiaries of subsidies; at the same time, the subsidy standard level is also adjusted to increase according to the State's budget capacity. Before July 1, 2024, the standard level of social assistance was 360,000 VND/month, from July 1, 2024, the standard level of social assistance was 500,000 VND/month.
The poverty reduction policy has achieved many successes, recognized and highly appreciated by the international community.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the poverty rate has decreased rapidly from 9.6% in 2012 to 4.25% in 2015. The rate of poor households according to the 2024 multidimensional poverty standard is still below 1.9%, down over 1%; the rate of poor ethnic minority households is below 13.5%, down over 3%.
Strengthening the pillar of social security, improving life: Ms. Lan Huong emphasized that to ensure sustainable social security, there needs to be comprehensive solutions, improving the capacity to respond to natural disasters and epidemics, especially investing resources from the grassroots. At the same time, it is necessary to effectively implement the pillars of social security such as social insurance, health insurance, unemployment; social protection, sustainable poverty reduction; job development, improving income and skills for workers, linking social security with sustainable economic growth.
