Commenting on the policy of maintaining replacement fertility in the draft Population Law, Deputy To Van Tam ( Quang Ngai ) said that the regulation of financial support for 3 groups of subjects - including ethnic minority women with very few people, women who give birth to 2 children before the age of 35, and women in areas with low fertility rates - is not really reasonable and unfair.
The delegate raised the issue: “It is necessary to clarify the scientific and practical basis of the regulation to support women to give birth to 2 children before the age of 35. If we consider fairness and reasonableness, there are still many unsatisfactory things.”
From there, he proposed: policies should be synchronous and expanded, aiming to support all women to give birth to 2 children, at the same time accompanied by specific solutions such as maternal and child health care, and employment for women to give birth to 2 children. In addition, it is necessary to empower localities to decide the level and form of support, depending on the actual population and financial capacity.
Delegate To Van Tam also emphasized that maintaining the birth rate cannot be the sole responsibility of the State. It is necessary to mobilize the participation of economic organizations and enterprises, creating conditions for female workers to feel secure in giving birth to enough children. “In reality, many women who are raising young children do not dare to take time off for fear of losing their jobs and reducing their income. Without a support mechanism from the workplace, it will be very difficult for them to feel secure in giving birth to enough children,” the delegate said.
Deputy Nguyen Hoang Uyen (Tay Ninh) agreed to implement financial and housing support policies for those who have two children, but acknowledged that implementing housing policies in practice is very difficult. Therefore, the Deputy suggested that policies need to be fundamental, such as reducing personal income tax for couples who have two children; providing more support for men; and having policies to ensure childcare so that women can return to work.
Regarding maintaining the replacement fertility rate, Deputy Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC) agreed with the measures of increasing maternity leave for the second child, expanding leave for husbands, providing financial support, and prioritizing social housing. However, the Deputy said that it is necessary to set criteria for identifying "low fertility localities" according to the index threshold and update cycle, avoiding inconsistencies between localities; assigning the People's Council to decide on the specific support level based on the Government's minimum framework, with a budget impact assessment report.
Deputy Nguyen Thien Nhan (HCMC) analyzed the current population situation of our country and expressed deep concern about the decline in birth rate in Vietnam. The Deputy compared it with Japan's experience to warn about the biggest development challenges in the 21st century. The Deputy pointed out that the decline in birth rate in Japan, although only an initial factor, has set back all economic achievements after 30 years, leading to a sharp decline in population and forecasting that there will be very few people in the future. For Vietnam, the birth rate is falling to replacement level, and the reduction in labor after 2035 will reduce the driving force for economic growth.
The delegate emphasized that one of the core reasons is that the minimum wage is not enough for workers to raise children, and current support policies are completely insufficient to maintain a stable replacement fertility rate. The delegate said that to solve the challenges of population issues and prepare for adapting to the risk of population aging, it is necessary to ensure a minimum wage policy so that workers can live and raise a child to study until the age of 18; the level of support for women when giving birth also needs to be satisfactory. According to the delegate, it is also necessary to clarify the concept of replacement fertility rate in the draft law to ensure that the policies put in place must maintain the replacement fertility rate...
Regarding the regulation " increasing maternity leave when giving birth to a second child: women are given an additional month off", Deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Phong) expressed her agreement, but also worried that this regulation could unintentionally create barriers for female workers, making businesses hesitant to recruit or assign women to important positions due to concerns about costs and work interruptions.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/de-xuat-ho-tro-tai-chinh-cho-moi-phu-nu-sinh-du-2-con-post822785.html
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