Social security sector makes efforts to support pandemic-hit labourers, bussinesses

Vietnam Social Security (VSS) has reduced the rate of premiums for the labour accident and occupational disease insurance fund to zero percent as part of efforts to enable enterprises to support their employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total cut amount from July 2021 to June 2022 following the scheme is about 4.32 trillion VND (187.9 million USD).

As of July 16, the VSS branches in cities and provinces nationwide had completed procedures and sent notifications on the reduction to 375,335 employers with over 11.2 million labourers.
Ho Chi Minh city has the highest number of enterprises and labourers benefiting from the scheme with 101,356 firms and 2.3 million workers, with the total amount of over 1 trillion VND. The city is followed by Hanoi with 87,000 firms and over 1.4 million employees.

At the same time, the sector has applied various measures, including simplifying administrative procedures, diversifying ways for submitting insurance-related dossiers and strengthening online transactions to make the Government support policies more accessible for employers and employees amid the pandemic.
VSS General Director Nguyen The Manh said that the agency has set up a steering committee for the implementation of the Government’s Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP and supporting policies for pandemic-hit labourers and enterprises.

Manh affirmed that the sector has spared no effort to optimise support policies for in-need companies and labourers, contributing to overcoming the pandemic and completing the dual targets set by the Government in effectively preventing the pandemic and promoting socio-economic development at the same time.
Resolution No 68 on a number of policies to support employees and employers affected by COVID-19 pandemic is expected to contribute to recovering production and business and mitigating the adverse impact of the pandemic.

In the document, some basic principles are set out, such as ensuring timely support, to the right people, publicity and transparency, simple and easy criteria and procedures for employees and employers to access. There are 12 supporting policies introduced in the recently-issued Resolution./.