Lesson 1: People are the center of social security policy

“A place to return to” - social housing has a humanitarian mission of providing housing opportunities for many families with disabilities.

Low income, creating a solid foundation for workers to focus on career development , promoting business development, locality and country to steadily move forward. With the policy of the Party and State "dream of a warm home", a stable and complete life for many people has become a reality .  

  "Settling down" is not complete, "working" is difficult to last long

Over the years, our Party and State have always paid attention to implementing social policies, ensuring social security, including ensuring the right to housing and equal access to housing for people, especially the disadvantaged and the disadvantaged. The National Assembly has continuously improved institutions, especially on housing and real estate laws, to create equal opportunities, helping low-income people access housing more easily. The National Assembly and the Government have implemented a series of resolutions, directives and plans on housing development and stabilizing the real estate market. In particular, the implementation of the Government's policy stipulating that commercial housing development projects must reserve 20% of land fund for social housing construction in localities is opening up many opportunities for workers and low-income people when approaching social housing for settlement...

Workers of EVA Quang Ninh Precision Industry Co., Ltd. process products.

Although there has been much progress in social housing development, overall assessment shows that the supply of social housing in many localities, especially in urban areas of large cities, is still lacking; the selling price of social housing is sometimes not suitable for the majority of people; the land fund for social housing development in some localities is generally of poor quality (far from the center, difficult to connect to infrastructure, etc.). Along with that, many social housing projects are slow to be implemented, due to the lack of financial capacity and implementation experience of project investors. In many localities, there are also groups of speculators, investors, and individuals operating in real estate brokerage "pushing up prices", "creating virtual prices", causing disruption to market information for profit. In addition, fluctuations in construction material prices and the shortage of project supply in recent times have pushed social housing prices up sharply in the secondary market. Many apartments are being sold at double, even triple or more than the original price just a few years after handover…

For Quang Ninh, a key economic area in the North and the whole country with a rapid urbanization rate, is an industrial and service province with many large industrial parks, focusing on many projects, tourism services, production investment, especially in the mining industry. Currently, Quang Ninh has more than 215,000 workers, civil servants, and laborers (CNVC-LĐ) working in agencies, units, and enterprises of all economic sectors, leading to a very high demand for housing. However, like many localities, real estate and housing prices also fluctuate. The time when real estate prices in Quang Ninh increased the most was around the end of 2020 to March 2021, when many segments increased sharply, especially villa land and urban land in prime locations, which could increase by 70-80% compared to the end of 2020.

With the income level of most workers today, especially young people, the opportunity to own a house is not easy. Most workers from other places who come to Quang Ninh to work have to rent houses, and their living conditions are not guaranteed. Lack of "a place to live" leads to the risk of losing security and order, labor shortages and other problems that partly affect the production and business of many units and enterprises. Mr. Trinh Van Hieu, Chairman of the Trade Union of EVA Quang Ninh Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Bac Tien Phong Industrial Park, Quang Yen Ward, said: “The company currently has more than 200 workers, most of whom come from other localities outside Quang Yen to work. For convenience in living and going to work, workers have to rent accommodation around the Industrial Park at a cost of 2 to 2.5 million VND/month. The company has a policy to support workers in renting accommodation, but it is only a short-term solution. To make workers feel secure in working with the company for a long time, building social housing for workers and low-income people is still an effective solution. At the end of this year, the company's factory will officially come into operation with nearly 2,000 workers, at that time the housing problem is a difficult problem…”.

Workers in industrial parks and enterprises in Quang Ninh province are mostly at the age of needing to start a family. Also because of the lack of food and accommodation, many people's mentality is unstable and lacks attachment to the enterprise. Mr. Luu Moc Sinh, Deputy General Director of Tonly Vietnam Electronic Engineering Co., Ltd., Dong Mai Industrial Park, Dong Mai Ward, said: "With 7,000 workers at present, the Company always pays attention to implementing welfare policies for workers. In addition to some stable management, office and administrative positions, the personnel in many departments often change, because many people ask to change jobs, the main reason is still the lack of stability in housing. This consequence makes the Company have to recruit to compensate for the labor shortage, which means the Company has to organize continuous training and coaching. At times, the Company has a large labor shortage, causing some production lines to temporarily stop production, affecting order progress as well as revenue...".

Faced with housing problems for workers and low-income earners, the National Assembly and the Government have recently implemented a series of measures to address them in order to increase housing supply, especially in the affordable and social housing segments. The Prime Minister also chaired many national online meetings, issued hundreds of resolutions, telegrams, directives, and assigned specific tasks to ministries, branches, and localities with the determination to build a more synchronous real estate market, with preferential mechanisms, convenient procedures, larger supply, and affordable prices to meet demand, and the most important thing is that people must benefit, not having to "jostle and scramble" to buy social housing.

Strong institutions - people trust, strong country

Developing social housing creates a place to live, contributes to stabilizing life, and creates conditions for workers to feel secure in their careers. Each house is not only a place to live, a place to return to after each day of work and study, but also creates a foundation to promote the sustainable development of "social cells", creating a driving force for economic growth and social stability.

The National Assembly's supervision delegation on the implementation of policies and laws on real estate market management and social housing development from 2015 to the end of 2023 conducted a survey at the trade union institution project at Thuy San hill, Bai Chay ward, Quang Ninh province, on July 18, 2024.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Construction, by 2030, Vietnam needs to build at least 1 million social housing units to meet the needs of the people, especially workers in industrial parks and low-income people. Through Party congresses as well as decisions of the National Assembly, the Government's direction has emphasized the task of social security, in which social housing is given special attention.

In the process of implementing the renovation policy, housing policy is reflected in the contents of ensuring social security in the resolutions of the Party and the National Assembly. In the Platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011), our Party determined to "Closely and reasonably combine economic development with cultural and social development, implement social progress and equity in each step and each policy; harmoniously develop material and spiritual life, constantly improve the lives of all members of society in terms of food, accommodation, travel, study, rest, medical treatment and physical improvement...".

Delegate Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ninh province, gave comments on draft laws at the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

The Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress also identified the key direction and solution of placing the issue of social housing in the overall tasks and solutions for social development and human care: “Promoting the widespread dissemination of poverty reduction goals, arousing the proactive will and aspirations of the poor, receiving and effectively using policies and support resources from the State and the community to escape poverty. Continuing to implement the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction. Developing and expanding housing types; promoting the development of social housing, rental housing, low-cost housing, housing for workers in industrial parks; creating conditions to encourage economic sectors to participate in housing development according to market mechanisms for social policy beneficiaries...”.

The National Housing Development Strategy to 2020 and Vision to 2030; National Housing Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030, Vision to 2045, also deeply express the viewpoints and goals on area, quality, policy orientation and propose comprehensive groups of solutions for housing development. The strategies clearly demonstrate the comprehensive viewpoints on housing development and the role of the subjects in solving the housing needs of the people, a basic right and a condition for the development of Vietnamese people. In which, it is emphasized: The State encourages economic sectors to develop housing according to market mechanisms to meet all needs of the people; There are policies to support housing for social policy beneficiaries, low-income earners and the poor who have difficulty with housing in order to contribute to political stability, ensure social security and develop urban and rural areas in a civilized and modern direction... These are major strategies of the Party and State on housing issues, creating a favorable environment for businesses to invest in the housing sector.

The Quang Ninh Provincial National Assembly Delegation and the Provincial Legal Education Coordination Council held a conference to disseminate and propagate laws passed at the 6th Session of the 15th National Assembly. Photo taken on January 10, 2024.

The National Assembly continuously builds and perfects practical and highly feasible institutions to best ensure the lives of the people and workers, including social housing policies. Laws are issued one after another, regularly amending and supplementing old legal documents that are no longer suitable and adding new contents to be closer to reality, such as: Housing Law 2005, Housing Law 2014 (amended), Housing Law 2023 (amended) ... have clearly defined the goal of housing development to ensure creating an environment for the simultaneous development of two types of housing (commercial housing and social housing); clearly stipulate that housing development must follow planning and have a plan, overcoming the situation of spontaneous development and imbalance between supply and demand. At the same time, specify incentive mechanisms, clearly define the responsibilities of relevant agencies in social housing development to serve those who have housing difficulties but are unable to pay according to market mechanisms; Eliminate a number of administrative procedures that cause inconvenience to businesses and people in housing business... In particular, the Housing Law 2023 (amended) has changes that are close to reality, adding subjects to buy social housing, such as: Enterprises, cooperatives and cooperative unions in industrial parks; relatives of martyrs; students of specialized schools; only regulating housing conditions and income conditions, abolishing residence conditions, creating favorable conditions for low-income people to approach social housing...

With the collective will, for the country and the people, National Assembly deputies always stay close to the grassroots, grasp and accurately reflect the thoughts and aspirations of voters and the favorable and difficult practical situations in each locality. Therefore, when laws come into effect, they increasingly affirm the quality of their promulgation, meeting the expectations of voters and people.

That result was "cultivated" from the solidarity, enthusiasm, responsibility, and intelligence of National Assembly deputies who understood the legitimate recommendations of voters, what voters needed and expected, and by conveying them responsibly to the National Assembly, contributing to perfecting the institution, raising the effectiveness of laws to meet current practical requirements, in line with the development trends of the locality and the country.

In Quang Ninh, with great responsibility to voters and people and for the country's development goals, the Provincial National Assembly Delegation has always shown enthusiasm and responsibility in contributing opinions to build laws, and has made many quality speeches and questions at the National Assembly. Going back in time, in 2023, when participating in the Housing Law 2023 (amended) project, the opinions of the Quang Ninh Provincial National Assembly Delegation were recognized and highly appreciated by the National Assembly; voters were happy and excited by the legitimate thoughts and aspirations conveyed to the National Assembly, including many important contents such as: Conditions for social housing support; housing construction policies for workers in service and tourism enterprises; resettlement housing development...

Along with the Housing Law 2023, the National Assembly also passed the Law on Real Estate Business and the Land Law, all of which will take effect from August 1, 2024. The laws coming into effect have been making important contributions, creating a complete legal corridor, helping the real estate market have more motivation to accelerate the recovery process and develop in a transparent, stable and sustainable direction; helping localities effectively implement the Government's Project on investing in the construction of at least 1 million social housing apartments for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period of 2021-2030.

Mr. Vu Tuan Anh, Deputy General Director of Global Financial Investment Consulting Joint Stock Company, said: The approved draft laws have gradually removed "bottlenecks" from practice for businesses and people, and at the same time, there are many mechanisms, policies and incentives to facilitate investment. I highly appreciate Quang Ninh province for being very prompt in implementing draft laws, including the Housing Law. When the Law was promulgated, localities and units in the province were also quick to grasp difficulties and public opinion to promptly respond and propose to competent authorities to amend, supplement and replace previous inappropriate regulations, so that the law can soon come into life...

Entering a new era, an era of national development, our Party and State continue to set the main task of ensuring social security, social progress, and "People's happiness". The draft document of the 14th Party Congress also emphasizes that social security is a policy for the people, taking the people as the center, the goal and driving force of the country's development process. Social security continues to be a key task with higher requirements, more and more practical policies, to ensure social security and improve the lives of people across the country.

In the context that the whole country continues to implement many inclusive and sustainable social policies and strategies in the new era of development, Resolution 201/2025/QH15 (dated May 29, 2025) of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for social housing development has just been issued and is being welcomed by voters nationwide. The Resolution is like a "breath of fresh air", removing difficulties, obstacles, and institutional "bottlenecks" to promote social housing development, focusing on: the National Housing Fund; assigning investors, approving investment policies, and at the same time assigning investors without bidding for social housing construction investment projects and housing for the People's Armed Forces that do not use public investment capital. At the same time, reducing cumbersome procedures for establishing, appraising, approving, and adjusting detailed planning for social housing construction investment projects; procedures for investing in social housing construction; determining selling prices, rental prices of social housing; housing conditions to enjoy social housing support policies; renting social housing, workers' accommodation in industrial parks; compensation, support, resettlement, investment in technical infrastructure systems, creating land funds for social housing development...  

At the National Online Conference to implement Resolution No. 201/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly, held in June 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Central Steering Committee on housing policy and real estate market, affirmed: Implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on social policy and social security, in the past time, there have been two very meaningful programs: the Program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses and the Project to build 1 million social housing apartments.

Emphasizing the need to resolutely implement the task, the Prime Minister requested provinces and cities to urge investors of commercial housing projects to carry out investment procedures for social housing construction on 20% of the project's land fund according to the provisions of the Housing Law 2023 to start construction in 2025, as a basis for completing the targets in the following years; promulgate incentive and support mechanisms, creating favorable conditions for enterprises and cooperatives to participate in investing in social housing construction... "The legal system on social housing development is increasingly being improved, removing bottlenecks and opening up so that everyone can access social housing and have a place to live. However, for the policy to come into life and have practical results, it is necessary to have the participation of ministries, branches, especially Party committees and leaders of localities in implementation" - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized.

Nguyen Hue - Cao Quynh

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/bai-1-nguoi-dan-la-trung-tam-cua-chinh-sach-an-sinh-3382524.html