Currently, maternity leave in Vietnam is one of the preeminent policies in the region in terms of leave time and benefit rate, but coverage is still low because this policy only applies to participating employees. Compulsory social insurance, employees participating in voluntary social insurance are not entitled to maternity benefits.

According to Ms. Dam Thi Van Thoa, Head of the Policy and Law Department of the Central Vietnam Women's Union, maternity leave is one of the important contents in ensuring the health and welfare of mothers and children. children and households as well as creating equal opportunities and treatment for female workers.

Although Vietnam's maternity policy is one of the most superior policies in the region in terms of leave time and benefit rate, coverage is still low because this policy only applies to participating employees. Participating in compulsory social insurance, employees participating in voluntary social insurance are not entitled to maternity benefits.

Data show that many women, especially working groups in rural areas and informal jobs, are not eligible for maternity benefits or maternity-related support benefits. Voluntary social insurance or inability to participate in social insurance. Meanwhile, this is a group of workers that accounts for a high proportion of the total number of people of working age in Vietnam.

This is also the group of workers that accounts for a high proportion of the total number of people of working age in Vietnam in general. “Thus, a lack of maternity benefits will greatly affect women's income, working hours as well as the health of mothers, children and households. More importantly, without good care regimes and policies, it will affect the quality of the population and the quality of the workforce in the future.

The International Labor Organization's 2019 survey also showed that only 30% of women in the workforce enjoy maternity benefits. Thus, there is still a significant labor force in society that is not eligible to participate in mandatory social insurance and has not participated in voluntary social insurance, which means that a large number of workers do not have maternity protection. .

Therefore, there needs to be a plan to further expand maternity benefits for employees to protect the health of mothers and children; This is also one of the solutions to ensure sustainable population development," Ms. Thoa shared at a seminar researching plans to expand maternity benefits in Vietnam's social security policy system.

Mr. Nguyen Hai Dat also discussed and learned about the current status of social insurance participation and gaps in coverage of maternity benefits in recent years in localities in Ho Chi Minh City; Factors affecting women's participation in local social insurance; Status of maternity benefits under social insurance (women and men); Labor trends of provinces and cities affect social insurance participation...

Statistics in recent years on the situation of participation and enjoyment of social insurance regimes in Ho Chi Minh City show the necessity of supplementing maternity benefits, in order to help the social insurance policy become more self-sufficient. Prayer is more attractive than before.

Statistical results also emphasize that voluntary social insurance is necessary, encouraging workers to participate, contributing to expanding coverage in the spirit of reforming the Central social insurance policy. Therefore, in the draft amendment to the Law on Social Insurance, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs proposes to supplement maternity benefits in the voluntary social insurance policy, female employees giving birth, male employees Those who are participating in voluntary social insurance and whose wives have children will benefit from the state budget.

It is time to research additional maternity benefits for those participating in voluntary social insurance, strengthen policies to support contributions from the State budget and mobilize from social resources; Policies to support women while raising children, vocational training policies, job creation for postpartum women, maternity policies for people with disabilities...

According to Social Insurance in Ho Chi Minh City, in 2022, the city will have more than 2.59 million people participating in mandatory social insurance; More than 61,600 people participate in voluntary social insurance; More than 170,900 people enjoy maternity benefits, down 44.11% compared to 2018.

The reason the number of people enjoying maternity benefits has decreased is due to reduced labor fluctuations due to the negative impact of the world situation that has affected the production, business, and orders of businesses, forcing them to shrink. production and termination of labor contracts with tens of thousands of workers, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Binh An