VietNamNet Bridge – The number of people participating in the unemployment insurance policy nationwide surged from nearly 6 million in 2009 to over 8.3 million in 2012, heard a conference in Ha Noi yesterday (Oct 10).

Unemployed people sign up for insurance in the northern province of Yen Bai's Job Introduction Centre. The number of people applying for this type of insurance nationwide increased from nearly 6 million in 2009 to over 8.3 million in 2012.

Experts attributed the increase to growing public awareness about unemployment insurance.

According to Le Quang Trung, deputy director of the Employment Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), applicants were concentrated in big cities with a lot of industrial areas and export processing zones.

In 2012, applicants from HCM City made up 29.5 per cent of the total. Applicants in southern Binh Duong Province represented over 18 per cent and those in neighbouring Dong Nai, 9 per cent.

According to reports from MoLISA and the Viet Nam Social Insurance Agency, the implementation of the unemployment insurance policy helps protect the rights of workers. Yet State officials from the Ministry and other relevant agencies said that some problems remain.

These include indifference on the part of unemployed people towards the Government's policy to support them in vocational training, many struggling companies delaying payment of unemployment insurance and other companies trying to evade paying insurance by signing contracts with workers for less than 12 months.

Trung also noted that in many cases, workers had to wait a long time for insurance payments, so the money sometimes failed to come when needed.

He explained that the delay happened due to a procedural complication: applications were received by a different agency from that which distributed payments.

Nguyen Minh Tri, director of the Job Placement Centre under the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the eligibility requirements limited access for those in need.

Currently, seasonal workers, people working on projects less than 12 months in duration and those working for companies that employ less than 10 workers are ineligible to participate in the unemployment insurance policy.

Tri pointed out that since these people have a higher risk of losing their jobs, they are the very groups that should be protected.

He suggested a change of policy that would allow these groups of workers to participate in social insurance, an opinion shared by other labour experts at the conference.

Tri also said the exchange of statistics and information between agencies handling unemployment insurance was not as regular and timely as needed.

Source: VNS