The government of HCM City has approved a plan to support migrant workers with a series of policies that will take effect early next year.

Housing for workers in Thu Duc District, HCM City. — Photo baotintuc.vn

Under the project signed by the chairman of HCM City's People's Committee Le Hoang Quan, migrant workers will be assisted with residence and social welfare access so they have decent living standards.

The city will institutionalise the temporary residential registration and other public services for migrant workers, focusing on workers who reside provisionally for more than six months in industrial parks.

The service will be piloted in the city's districts 9 and 12. Under the project, workers moving from other localities will be able to learn more about the law on residential status and will have improved access to public services in the city.

In order to realise the targets, the city government will erect 40 bulletin boards that will display administrative procedures for provisional residence, and disseminate an additional 180 papers about procedures at hostels.

Free legal consultations will also be provided for 400 migrant workers, 70 per cent of whom are female. The consultations will be given through communication sessions in the community. It is expected that 800 workers will attend a seminar to learn about the laws that affect them.

The city will also allow 50 households that move to HCM City from other localities to transfer their health insurance from the countryside to urban areas.

In addition, 200 migrant workers will be allowed to use electricity under priority prices given by the State.

The city will also coordinate with the Viet Nam Judical Support Association for the Poor and HCM City University of Law to carry out a programme to improve the management capacity of district and ward level officials responsible for taking care of temporary residence registrations.

The training will emphasise transparency in procedures related to migrants.

As part of the new city policies, 24 key officials in four wards will work with four groups of key workers coming from other provinces. The workers will share their knowledge about regulations and the law with other migrant workers.

Two meetings will be organised for workers to talk with representatives from grassroots governments. At the city level, there will also be a seminar where workers and lawyers will discuss the law and how migrant workers can better integrate into HCM City society.

VNS