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Explaining the change, Minister of Labor, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, said that the government supported the ministry’s six month maternity leave, but the change must be applied in a specific roadmap to not make hindrance in the labor market for women, and to fit with the Social Insurance Fund’s payment ability.
“In normal conditions, five month maternity leave is good enough for mothers,” Chuyen said.
Phan Trung Ly, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Legal Committee, supported the six-month maternity leave, before or after birth delivery.
Phung Quoc Hien, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Finance and Budget, also backed six-month maternity leave.
Kso Phuoc, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Ethnic Groups, showed his worry about this long maternity leave. He said up to 90 percent of workers of textile and garment factories are women. If one third of them have maternity leave, these factories will be affected. He said that men who have to take care of babies should be subject of this policy.
Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Economics, Nguyen Van Giau, said that all reports do not point out the ground to prove the necessary maternity leave is four or five months.
At a meeting held by the MoLISA recently to hear opinions and feedback about the proposal, most of the delegates said they supported the six month expansion, considering it as a solution to improving the health and well-being of Vietnamese children.
Currently, about 32 percent of the 7 million children under five in Vietnam suffer stunted growth, ranked 13th in the world, according to the Health Ministry. Stunted growth results from malnutrition suffered by the fetus and the baby in its first 2 months of life, the ministry said.
Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months would help boost growth and reduce mortality rate among children below five by 13 percent. But only 10 percent of babies in Vietnam are exclusively breastfed in the first six months after birth, the ministry said, warning this puts them at a greater risk for diseases.
Many health experts blame the situation partly on the short maternity leave – just 4 months, and said an expansion will give mothers more time to breastfeed and take care of their babies.
Law makers call for future removal of minimum wage
The National Assembly Standing Committee stated that salaries should reflect the quality of the work done and be dictated by market forces.
Law makers also suggested the number of public holidays should be increased.
However, Truong Thi Mai, chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs, argued that a minimum wage should be applied to regions that had a high ratio of low-skilled workers.
"We should only set a minimum wage for sectors and industries that employ low-paid workers. This would prevent employers from taking advantage of their employees," she said.
According to the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour, current wage levels only met 60 per cent to 70 per cent of a worker's living standard.
Meanwhile, a report by the NA Standing Committee stated that the minimum wage was only applicable to 10-20 per cent of employees working in the most vulnerable industries.
Nguyen Kim Khoa, chairman of the NA Committee for National Defence and Security, said the minimum wage did not protect vulnerable employees.
"Many foreign enterprises are taking advantage of the law to pay their employees the least amount to boost profits," he said.
The current Labour Code sets four different minimum wages for different regions and different industrial sectors.
Yoon Youngmo, from the International Labour Organisation in Ha Noi, said it was a mistake to set more than one minimum wage level. "It is far more difficult and complicated. How do you clearly define different industrial sectors. How do you determine what minumum wage should be for that sector?" he said.
He also said the Government should not be responsible for determining an employees' wage level.
"This situation reflects the weakness of wage negotiations between trade unions and employers," he said.
He said trade unions should take a bigger role in wage negotiations. "That way the minimum wage would protect vulnerable workers."
More holidays
The NA Standing Committee has suggested there should be 10 national holidays a year, one more than the current level. They suggested the extra day should be added to the four-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
"Facts have shown that workers are unproductive on the first day back from Tet. It would be far better to give workers a full week off," said NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.
NA vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, former Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, agreed that workers should have more public holidays. She said Vietnamese workers had fewer public holidays than other workers in the region.
The current Vietnamese national holidays are New Year's Day, Hung Kings' day (March 10 on the Lunar Calendar), April 30 (Reunification Day), May 1 (May Day), September 2 (National Day) and the four Tet holidays.
In comparison, S.Korea and Singapore have 14 public holidays, Malaysia has 17, the Philippines has 20 and China has 21. Meanwhile, there are 10 national holidays in the UK, 11 in Sweden, 12 in the US and Canada and 13 in Nigeria.
Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said her ministry would add the extra holiday suggestion to the draft amended Labour Code.
In addition to public holidays, Vietnamese workers have 12 paid holidays each year.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers have suggested the number of working hours in the month be increased to 360 from the current 200.
NA Economics Committee chairman Nguyen Van Giau said workers would welcome the extra overtime.
Phung Quoc Hien, chairman of the NA Committee for Finance and Budget, suggested the increased hours should only be applied to specific industries and for workers of a certain age, for health reasons.
Meanwhile, the ILO's Youngmo said it was important to ensure workers were not forced into doing unwanted overtime.
"It is important that workers are able to choose whether to accept overtime work or not," he said.
Vietnam's Labour Code came into effect in 1995 and has been amended three times.
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