English Champion 2016 to be launched in three big cities

An English contest for primary and junior high school students (English Champion 2016) will be launched in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City on March 5-April 9.

Accordingly, contestants from the 4th to 8th grades will compete in three rounds including The Start of Something New, Making a Difference, and Global Ambassadors to show their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

Besides, the competition will also examine the competitors’ math and science knowledge and communication and presentation skills.

The winner of each grade will receive a full scholarship worth VND60 million and VND5 million in cash.

The second-place finishers will be given VND3 million and a scholarship worth VND30 million and the third placer will receive VND1 million and a scholarship worth VND15 million.

In addition, 15 outstanding contestants will be financed to attend Edexcel’s international certification exams for primary and junior high school students.

The competition is organised by The Vietnam Central Study Encouragement Association, EQuest Academy, and Pearson/Edexcel-UK's largest awarding organisation in Vietnam.

Vietnamese waiter sacked for flinging food at guests dissatisfied with meal

A restaurant waiter in a coastal resort city in south-central Vietnam has been fired for hurling food at diners after they expressed their disappointment with a dish.

The waiter, working for Nhat Trang, which is a seafood restaurant in Nha Trang, the capital city of Khanh Hoa Province, splashed leftovers onto diners since they complained about the dish’s quality, Tran Huu Ly, a marketplace management official, said.

On Tuesday morning, officials were sent to the restaurant to investigate the case, Ly added.

The waiter was fired the same day, according to Nguyen Minh Trong, who owns the restaurant.

Trong then apologized to Luu Phuong Mai and her friend, the two diners who were treated badly by the staff.

The incident was reported by the two on Monday evening, Ly said.

According to Ly, Mai, a visitor from Hanoi, and her friend had a meal at the restaurant that evening.

“Everything was fine until we ordered a dish of rice fried with seafood,” Mai recounted.

“It cost VND150,000 [$6.7], but what they brought us was just a cool dish of fried rice with only a few pieces of squid and some herbs.”

She said to a waiter that the dish was not worth the price and it was then withdrawn for being warmed up, she said.

After finishing their meal, Mai and her friend paid the bill of VND526,000 ($23.5), which had excluded the price of the fried rice.

“We then paid VND606,000 [$27] to ease the cash change, but the waiter, instead of giving us back VND80,000 [$3.6], forced us to eat and pay for the fried rice dish, which had been warmed up,” she added.

“The manager has resigned,” shouted the staff when the two requested to meet the head of the restaurant to complain.

“When seeing us taking pictures for evidence, the waiter shouted and hurled the leftover food at us and rudely told us to leave the place,” Mai said.

Mai and her friend then reported the issue to local authorities.

Mai said that she accepted the restaurateur’s apology and felt pleased seeing immediate actions taken by local authorities.

“What I really hope to see is politeness and hospitality, the fundamental values that all businesses in Nha Trang should exhibit instead of just increasing prices or what I have experienced,” she said.

New HCM City bridge barely used

The newly-built Rach Chiec Bridge in Ho Chi Minh City is seeing few vehicles because of sloppy clean-up works from authorities and contractors.

Rach Chiec Bridge on Ho Chi Minh City’s Eastern Belt Road was inaugurated on January 30. The 540.9m-long bridge cost VND871bn (USD40m) and helps connect to Phu My Bridge, Saigon High-tech Park, Cat Lai Port and the Hanoi Highway.

It is intended to ease pressure on the traffic flow around the city's eastern gate and congestion in the city.

However the route is almost deserted because the authorities have not properly installed traffic signs or removed signs banning vehicles from using the route.

Truong Quoc Khanh, a driver from Dong Nai Province, was surprised knowing that there was a new shorter route to Phu My Bridge. "I didn't see any signposts, only a no entry sign. So who would take that route?" he said.

On Lien Phuong Street, the roads that lead to Rach Chiec Bridge are still covered in dust and gravel. Because the intersection on La Xuan Oai Street lacks traffic lights, there are often accidents, including when a tour bus tried to avoid a motorbike on January 29.

Doan Phu Duc, deputy director of D2 area at Saigon Hi-tech Park promised to upgrade the road and install proper traffic lights on the way to Rach Chiec Bridge.

Vietnam invests in improving productivity

In the context of Vietnam’s extensive international integration in 2016, the Vietnamese government is paying special attention to improving the national competitive edge and people’s living standards.

Vietnam has investment in capital, science, technology, and human resources to improve its productivity.

Since 2000 Vietnam’s labor productivity has increased 3% annually. The largest increase occurred in the industrial and construction sectors. The labor productivity gap between Vietnam and other ASEAN countries has narrowed but the gap with more developed countries remains wide.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam Productivity Institute, says many countries have focused on increasing capital investment in modern equipment to increase labor productivity. Vietnam needs more capital to promote economic growth.

Tuan said Vietnam needs to pay more attention to science, technology, labor quality and efficient resource allocation to improve productivity. 

He said investment in science and technology is vital: “The general productivity will be low if we have many sectors with low productivity, using a lot of workers to produce low values. That’s why it’s necessary to invest in equipment, improve managerial capacity, and promote innovations”.

Theoretically, the focus should be on sectors with high added value. But Vietnam is still focused on processing, mining and construction rather on investing in equipment.

The agricultural sector is heavily dependent on manual labor and household production.

The service sector has low added value. One way to increase productivity would be to shift from low to high productivity sectors.

It’s also important to improve the quality of human resources, increase the application of science and technology, expand markets, and promote the export of high added value products.

Nguyen Minh Phong is an economist: “We have increased investment in the support industry, especially the sectors that can participate in the global supply chain. Vietnam also needs to boost information technology, processing, and precision technology. The agricultural sector needs to focus on high tech agriculture and ecological agriculture. The service sector needs to promote banking, financial and telecommunications services which use advanced technology and create high added values”.

Duong Duc Lan, General Director of the Vietnam General Department of Vocational Training of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, says technology and workers’ skills are the two main factors in increasing productivity.

Lan stressed the importance of vocational training: “Workers in manufacturing, business and services determine the productivity. If we pay due attention to and invest in vocational training, we can increase productivity. So far, investment in vocational training accounts for only 9% of the total budget allocation for education and training”.

Vietnam is now focusing on fine-tuning production mechanisms, improving human resource training, advancing science and technology, increasing national competitiveness, achieving rapid and sustainable growth, and narrowing development gap with other countries in the region.

Busy Vietnamese airports encourage passengers to check in online

Online check-in may not be something new to flyers in other countries, but there are still very few Vietnamese passengers choosing this convenient method, no matter how busy the airports are.

Local airlines and the country’s aviation watchdog are therefore encouraging more Vietnamese flyers to check in online instead of physically completing pre-flight procedures.

As Vietnam observed the Lunar New Year, or Tet, the aviation market entered the busiest time of the year, with demand for air travel spiking at least a month before and after the holiday officially began on February 8.

Although national carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airline Vietjet have located many online check-in machines at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, most local passengers continue to opt for the traditional counters.

“It might be a matter of habit,” said Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

“Passengers may feel more confident when they complete procedures at the check-in counters, or have too much luggage to do the web check-in.”

Cuong admitted that the CAAV has yet to produce statistics on how many Vietnamese passengers have checked in online during the Tet season, but “online check-in is a method which passengers should be urged to use.”

The CAAV wants more passengers to use online check-in to reduce pressure on airports, he added.

“We will try to work with international airlines to have more flights allowing online check-in to shorten the processing time for passengers and encourage more of them to use this method,” he said.

Vietnam Airlines started accepting online check-in in June 2015, but the number of passengers checking in online only surged during Tet, according to the carrier’s representative.

From February 3 to 8, the busiest time for people to fly home for Tet, Vietnam Airlines logged approximately 5,000 online check-ins, or 20% of their total number of passengers.

“With online check-in, passengers can save time and be able to respond in a timely way to any issues related to their tickets,” a Vietnam Airlines representative said.

“Those who use online check-in only need to arrive at the airport 15 minutes before their flight, instead of 40 minutes for those who use check-in counters.”

Passengers who complete online check-in, either at home using their computers or smartphones or via machines installed at airports, will have their boarding pass emailed to them, which they can use to pass security and board their flight without having to get it printed.

But not all passengers know of the availability of online check-in.

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter visited Noi Bai International Airport on February 14, where Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have three counters each to serve online check-in passengers, and saw very few passengers using the service.

When asked, many said they had not been informed of the online check-in when purchasing their tickets.

“This is the first time I have heard of online check-in,” said Huynh Cong Minh, a medical student in the central city of Hue.

As Minh still opted for the traditional check-in, he had to come to the airport very early.

“Airlines should have made the service more widely known to passengers to help ease airport pressure, especially during peak times.”

Ten legal documents issued in January

The Government and the PM issued ten legal documents including eight decrees and two decisions in January this year.

Decree 03/2016/ND-CP dated January 5, 2016 details and provides measures to implement a number of articles of the Law on Militia and Self-Defense Force.

The decree stipulates allowance, social insurance, healthcare insurance, expenditure for self-defense force.

It will take effect from February 20, 2016.

Decree 04/2016/ND-CP, dated January 6, 2016 amends a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 52/2009/ND-CP of June 3, 2009, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Management and Use of State Property.

The decree will come into effect from February 20, 2016.

Decree 05/2016/ND-CP, dated January 11, 2016 stipulates policies and regimes for relatives of non-commissioned officers and soldiers performing compulsory service in the People’s Public Security force.

Under the decree, beneficiaries include fathers, mothers, father and mother-in-law, spouse, offspring, adapted children of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

The document is scheduled to take effect from March 1, 2016.

The Government on January 18 issued Decree 06/2016/ND-CP on the management, provision and use of radio and television services.

The Decree stipulates that a foreign broadcasting channel in a pay radio or television system in Viet Nam must produce programs with healthy contents in line with the Vietnamese culture and not violate the press law of Viet Nam.

The programs also need to meet the requirement to own or use the copyrighted contents being aired or televised in such system and obtain certificates of registration of service provision on pay radio and television.  

Decree 08/2016/ND-CP, dated January 25, 2016 regulates the number of Vice Chairpersons and procedures on election, reassignment, and dismissal of People’s Committee members.

Decree 09/2016/ND-CP, dated January 28, 2016 specifies the mandatory fortification of micronutrients in food.

Accordingly, four micronutrients namely iodine, iron, zinc and vitamin A must be added to certain foods. These micronutrients must meet relevant Vietnamese national technical regulations or food safety regulations.

The PM on January 19 issued Decision No. 01/2016/QD-TTg on mechanisms and procedures to support localities to overcome natural disaster consequences.

The PM also signed Decision No. 02/2016/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2016 which specifies conditions on the announcement of the outbreak of infectious epidemic diseases.

Also in January, the Government introduced Resolution 01/NQ-CP on major tasks and solutions to guide the implementation of the 2016 socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates.

Public healthcare goes long way after “Doi Moi”

Vietnam’s healthcare has gone a long way since the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) Process 30 years ago with improved service quality and equality.

The mortality rate of children aged under one fell from 44.4 per 1,000 in 1990 to 15.2 per 1,000 in 2014, while the under-five mortality rate dropped more than half over the past two decades, from 58 per 1,000 in 1990 to 22.9 per 1,000 in 2014.

The maternal death rate fell two-thirds from 233 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 60 per 100,000 births in 2014.

The country’s HIV infection rate has been reduced to below 0.3 percent as targeted by the National Target Programme on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control from 2004 – 2010, while outbreaks of SARS, A/H5N1 and dengue fever have been contained.

The network of communal healthcare units has been expanded with over 11,500 commune-based medical stations spreading from deltas to border and far-flung areas throughout the nation. The network has been recognised as a successful example for other countries to follow.

Vietnam is now home to approximately 13,440 public healthcare establishments, 75 sanatoriums and more than 1,000 general and antenatal clinics.

Hospitals have continued to apply information technology in management while advanced medical techniques, such as organ transplants, endoscopy, IVF, heart surgery and surgery to separate conjoined twins have also become more common.

Vietnam, one of the few vaccine producers in the world, has been certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a country with a fully-equipped national regulatory authority (NRA) that ensures the safety and efficacy of vaccines produced and used.

The country made remarkable progress in 2015, particularly in efforts to curb overcrowding at major hospitals, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said.

Tien took K Hospital, National Endocrinology Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital as examples, saying that patients no longer have to share beds.

Some hospitals even have hotel-standard accommodation facilities, she added.

The Ministry of Health has worked hard to accelerate administrative reforms and develop satellite hospitals to provide quality treatment for more people.

The initial satellite hospital project has brought good results, alleviating the overload at major hospitals. At present, there are 46 satellite hospitals throughout Vietnam linked to city hospitals where satellite staff are trained and given technical updates.

However, existing problems still challenge the sector, notably health access disparities between rural and urban areas, the aging population, deadly epidemics and climate change-related diseases, along with a lack of medical facilities and personnel at local levels.

The ministry plans to further reduce treatment times and improve health workers’ attitudes towards patients to increase patient satisfaction in 2016, while home visits by family doctors, a new service in Vietnam, will be expanded across the nation.

International cooperation will also be intensified for the increased use of advanced medical technologies in hospitals.

Ministry wants more quality standards to regulate goods

There is a lack of national technical standards for some goods in Viet Nam, which raises the risk of unsafe products being made, imported or sold in the market.

According to the science and technology ministry, pursuant to the Law of Standards and Technical Standards, effective from 2007, Vietnam Standards, including national standards (TCVN) and fundamental standards (TCCS), are used as the legal basis for ensuring the safety of products, national security and consumers' rights.

There are about 5,000 standards in Viet Nam. They are classified into sections or subjects in accordance with the International Classification for Standards.

Statistics of the technology ministry show that ministries and agencies developed more than 610 standards, including 425 to regulate products that can pose risks to people.

However, the ministry said 86 products and groups of products were yet to be covered by Vietnam Standards.

These include fire-fighting devices, technical devices for the police, transport infrastructure items and industrial explosives, besides pesticides and toxic oriental medicines.

The science and technology ministry has called on ministries and agencies to speed up the compilation and issuance of national standards for the products they oversee.

The move would also help customs officials to monitor and handle the import of such products better, the ministry said.

Hanoi targets reduction in power safety violations

Ha Noi has targeted reduction in violations of safety regulations for the high-voltage grid by 30 per cent in this year, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade has said.

Le Hong Thang, director of the department, who is also deputy head of the city's steering committee on the high-voltage grid safety corridor, said that the violations on safety regulations for the high-voltage grid in 2015 has reduced compared to the previous year, but still remained complicated.

Figures from the steering committee revealed 604 cases of violations. Of these, 281 had been solved, while the rest remained unresolved.

In 2014, there were more than 880 violations, but only 236 cases had been handled.

A lack of knowledge about power safety among residents and contractors of construction projects, was the main reason of the violation, he said.

Thang said the city's People's Committee has guided the Ha Noi Electricity of Viet Nam, the city police, Ha Noi High-voltage Grid Company and local authorities in the districts to strengthen inspections of the power network at Chem-Hoan Kiem Lake, Mai Dong-Phuong Liet, Chem-Thanh Xuan, and Ha Dong-Thanh Cong to avoid more violations on these routes.

He expected the electricity companies to report to the steering committee if and when any violations were discovered. The inspection on building projects should be implemented regularly, especially the residential housing projects in rural areas.

Project investors and contractors must sign an agreement to assure safety, he said.

Thang also said the steering committee would work with the local committee in districts to set up a plan to crack down on violations on the high-voltage grid safety corridor, that have been happening since last year.

HCM City seeks support to develop rural transport

Newly built rural roads in HCM City have brought greater ease of movement to many residents, but more capital is needed as the city continues developing its rural transport infrastructure for the 2016-20 period.

A recent survey detailed how, by the end of 2015, nearly 100 per cent of the inter-district and commune routes were asphalted and had at least two traffic lanes.

HCM City is one of the first localities in the country that has achieved all of its targets for developing rural transport.

With a total investment of over VND7,700 billion (US$345 thousand), of which 20 per cent was contributed by local residents, the city has built more than 1,500 new rural roads, as well as building or renovating more than 500 bridges in the nearby provinces and communes.

Currently, most rural roads have been upgraded to level A, which are roads that run from village to commune, from commune to commune, and from commune to rice field.

Nearly 100 per cent of the main roads that connect rice fields and residential areas meet the criteria for urban roads.

Contribution of local residents Nguyen Thi Hoa, a resident in Trung Lap Thuong Commune's Trung Binh Hamlet in Cu Chi District, is excited about newly asphalted Road 708, which runs in front of her house.

"In addition to the city's investment, we (the hamlet's residents) contributed more than VND300 million to assist in the completion of the road," she said. "Now we can visit our neighbours during the Lunar New Year holiday without having to battle dust and potholes."

Similarly, the newly completed inter-communal roads in Can Gio District's Ly Nhon Commune are making it easier for residents to deliver and sell their agricultural products.

Residents in Tâan Nhut Commune of Binh Chanh District, who live amongst numerous canal systems, can now travel on the new roads, instead of walking or traveling by boat.

Support from local residents was one of the crucial factors in the improvement of rural areas, said Le Thanh Liem, vice chairman of the HCM City People's Committee.

"We formed steering committees and collaborated with the relevant forces to encourage contributions from local residents," he said.

"Effective communications achieved their agreement and support, creating favorable conditions to complete the transport improvement projects in time," noted Liem.

Since many districts in HCM City are still in the middle of the urbanisation process, their plans for urban construction, residential areas and agricultural production areas often overlap.

This requires rural transport development projects to be planned carefully to ensure their feasibility.

"During the 2016-20 period, the city will continue to develop the rural transport systems in both quantity and quality," said Nguyen Thanh Chung, director of the HCM City transport department.

"We will develop both water transport and road traffic systems in order to improve the delivery of agricultural products to farmers living in the city," he said. "Also, traffic signs will be positioned effectively to prevent accidents on inter-communal roads."

The city aims to construct at least two lanes on 100 per cent of the major communal roads, to apply asphalt and concrete to 100 per cent of the rural roads, as well as improve 100 per cent of the waterways and establish bus routes going to all commune centres.

To achieve those objectives, the city's transport department asked the transport ministry for support with investment capital, as well as calling for different forms of investment from different sectors, Chung said.

"Local residents can provide support by donating land, work days, as well as funding, to assist in the progress of the development," said Nguyen Thi Hanh, deputy head of division of Nha Be District People's Committee.

Nobel laureates to attend scientific conference in Viet Nam

Around 150 domestic and foreign scientists, including several Nobel laureates, will attend a conference on fundamental sciences and society scheduled for July at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education in central Binh Dinh province.

The information was announced by internationally recognised Vietnamese-French Professor Tran Thanh Van.

Professor Van said the conference will create a platform for leaders, scientists and businesses to discuss measures to develop fundamental sciences in the context of Vietnam's socio-economic development.

Professor Van said that Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam will present the country's scientific development roadmap in his opening speech. Five Nobellaureates, Professor Ngo Bao Chau, Professor Dam Thanh Son and many renowned scientists have accepted the invitation to attend.

More talks between employers and employees needed

Thirty per cent of companies hold discussion sessions each month to air employees' grievances, a survey by the Labour and Salary Department has found.

The remainder of the 120 companies surveyed held discussions once a quarter or annually.

"Many enterprises are attracting more labourers each year and unemployment has fallen, thanks to frequent discussions in the workplace," Le Xuan Thanh, deputy head of the department, said at a conference held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Businesses use these dialogues to work out solutions to difficulties in trade and production, and bridge the gap between employees and employer. Topics discussed include salaries, bonuses, social welfare and labour safety policies.

However, some enterprises can't hold these talks regularly because not many employees participate and there isn't enough time in the year, according to representatives from the firms. Also, employees' representatives focused solely on social welfare and didn't discuss ways to improve the companies' productivity.

At the conference, many enterprises said the regular dialogues would cost the companies time and money. It was also hard for them to share information with employees while keeping trade and technological secrets.

Pham Minh Huan, deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that aside from current regulations in the Law on Labour, the ministry would add more details to guide enterprises as they carry out these discussions.

Employers should be aware of their responsibility and the importance of holding talks with employees, he said. Sharing information in the workplace tightens the relationships between companies and their labourers, he added.

He also suggested trade unions organise training courses to improve negotiation skills.

Nurse practitioner jobs in Germany to grow

In the context of the European nation’s life expectancy increasing and declining birth rate, nurse practitioner jobs in Germany are expected to grow, says the Overseas Labour Management Department.

“Currently, Germany has nearly 2.3 million elderly in need of care and that figure is expected to increase to 3.4 million over the next few years,” said Department Head Nguyen Ngoc Quynh. “This will create openings for 500-700 workers annually.”  

Quynh said the Department has been working with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to fill the need at its hospitals and care centres with nurse practitioners on a pilot basis.

Since 2013 approximately 200 Vietnamese nurse practitioners have secured jobs in Germany under the program.

At present, 128 candidates are participating in German language training courses and will be sent to work in the European nation in the time ahead, earning an average salary of US$2,026-US$2,251 per month.

Hanoi’s first elevated rail line to start service in December

After several years of sputtering, Hanoi's notorious elevated rail project now has a new finish date with the first train scheduled to run on December 31.

The Railway Project Management Unit (PMU), the investor, and the main contractor China Railway Sixth Group Co. Ltd on February 13 signed an agreement promising to meet that deadline. Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Hong Truong witnessed the signing.

The 13-km rail line will link Cat Linh Street to Yen Nghia Bus Station in Ha Dong District, making 12 stops along the way

Le Kim Thanh, general director of the Railway PMU, said that 70% of the construction work for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong project has been completed.

Work on the 13-kilometer line, which will link Cat Linh Street to Yen Nghia Bus Station in Ha Dong District, was originally scheduled to start in August 2008 and finish in November 2013.

But construction was delayed until October 2011.

A prolonged site clearance process and late payments to sub-contractors were key reasons behind the delay, which caused the initial cost estimate of US$552 million to increase by a staggering US$339 million.

The project has also been notorious for two collapses in 2014, killing one and injuring three others.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri