At the discussion session in the hall on some contents with different opinions of the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended), some delegates discussed the insurance regime for employees on maternity leave or sick leave.
Continuing the 7th Session, the National Assembly spent the whole day of May 27 discussing in the hall a number of contents with different opinions of the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended).
During the discussion session, some delegates discussed the insurance regime for employees on maternity leave or sick leave.
Clarifying regulations on sick leave benefits
Regarding the period of enjoying sick leave in Article 44 of the draft Law, Clause 2 stipulates that if the period of enjoying sick leave prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article expires and treatment continues, employees who take leave due to illness on the list of illnesses requiring long-term treatment issued by the Ministry of Health will continue to enjoy sick leave at a lower level.
Delegate Trieu Thi Huyen ( Yen Bai ) proposed that the Drafting Committee clearly stipulate what the "lower level" is. Because Clause 1, Article 44 has rigidly stipulated 2 levels of sick leave benefits for employees and at the same time Clause 2, Article 46 also rigidly stipulated 3 levels of benefits of 50, 55 and 60% of the salary for social insurance when employees are sick.
Therefore, according to the delegate, if the level is set lower than that in Clause 1, Article 44 or Clause 2, Article 46, it is necessary to specify what that level is so that law enforcement agencies are not confused and have problems in the process of organizing and implementing.
Regarding the level of sick leave benefits in Article 46, Clause 5 stipulates that the level of sick leave benefits for half a day is calculated as half of the level of sick leave benefits for one day. When calculating the level of sick leave benefits for employees who take sick leave for less than a full day, the case of taking sick leave for less than half a day is counted as half a day, from half a day or more will be counted as 1 day.
Delegate Dang Thi Bao Trinh (Quang Nam) proposed that there should be specific regulations on how to determine half a day to calculate sick leave and work according to the provisions of labor law or calculate according to 24 hours, especially for cases where employees work 12 hours per shift.
Delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc (Ho Chi Minh City) said that in Article 47 of the draft Law on recuperation and health recovery after illness, there are still unclear words such as: 10 days off for workers whose health has not recovered, 7 days for those who have not recovered after surgery...
Delegates assessed that this regulation is still vague, so experts should be left to decide on a case-by-case basis.
In Article 53, regarding pregnancy examination, delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc said that it should be divided into two groups: normal pregnancy and pathological pregnancy, and in Article 54, there is no basis for dividing gestational age. Therefore, delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc suggested that the Drafting Committee reconsider these two articles.
In Section 1, Clause c, Article 74 stipulates that the subjects eligible to withdraw social insurance at one time are those suffering from one of the following diseases: cancer, paralysis, cirrhosis, severe tuberculosis, AIDS.
Delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc proposed to remove this clause because there are some diseases that can be completely cured and workers can return to normal work.
Delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc also said that the above concepts have not been updated with medical knowledge, and if included in the Law, it would be inappropriate. Therefore, Delegate Nguyen Tri Thuc proposed to remove this clause and for each case, the ability to work should be determined and the ability to work should be determined by the Medical Assessment Council.
Ensuring good health care conditions for working women
Regarding the maternity leave period in Article 55, Clause 3, which stipulates that if a child 2 months or older dies, the mother is entitled to 2 months off from the date of the child's death, which is too little.
Delegate Dang Thi Bao Trinh proposed that the draft law should increase the time mothers are allowed to take off work from 2 months to 3 months if their child dies after 2 months, to ensure the health and labor rights of women when giving birth.
Discussing the conditions for enjoying maternity benefits, delegate Do Duc Hien (Ho Chi Minh City) said that inheriting the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, the draft law, in Article 52, stipulates that female workers who give birth must pay social insurance for at least 3-6 months in the 12 months before giving birth to be eligible for maternity benefits.
However, the delegate noted that in reality, there are currently cases of workers being infertile and in many cases, medical measures must be applied to treat both husband and wife.
Treatment for rare and late diseases is often costly and time-consuming. Meanwhile, according to the current Law on Social Insurance, employees who do not work or receive salary for 14 working days or more in a month do not pay social insurance for that month and this period is not counted for social insurance benefits.
“The above provisions of the law lead to the situation that in order to meet the requirements for infertility treatment, female workers will have their social insurance payment period interrupted due to having to take unpaid leave for more than 14 days a month and for many months, thus not meeting the conditions for payment from 3 to 6 months in the 12 months before giving birth. As a result, they are not entitled to the property regime when giving birth, even though they have previously paid social insurance for many consecutive years. On the other hand, due to economic pressure, there are many cases where female workers want to go back to work early to earn income but are not resolved because they have not had enough time off after giving birth as prescribed, while they are not entitled to the property regime, which is very disadvantageous. Not to mention that the time off for childbirth in this case is not counted as working time,” the delegate noted.
Commenting on the time off work to enjoy the regime when having a pregnancy check-up, delegate Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi (Ben Tre) said that Article 53, Clause 1 stipulates: “During pregnancy, female employees are allowed to take time off work to have a pregnancy check-up up to 5 times. The maximum time off work to enjoy the regime when having a pregnancy check-up is 2 days for 1 pregnancy check-up.”
However, according to the delegate, in reality, through contact with voters who are workers and employees in enterprises, there are many opinions on this content. When pregnant female workers go for regular prenatal checkups, doctors often prescribe a follow-up checkup after 30 days.
However, according to current regulations and the draft Law, female employees are only allowed to take a maximum of 5 days off for prenatal check-ups. If the fetus develops normally, but if the fetus develops abnormally, the doctor will prescribe a follow-up visit after 1 week, 10 days, 15 days... for the doctor to monitor.
“Thus, the time limit prescribed in the draft Law and the current Law of only being allowed to take no more than 5 breaks is too low for cases of abnormal fetal development,” the delegate emphasized.
To ensure good health care conditions for pregnant women to work with peace of mind, delegates suggested that it is also necessary to consider and regulate the option of taking a maximum of 5 days off, each time no more than 2 days, or increasing the number of prenatal check-ups to 9-10 times during pregnancy to ensure that female workers are fully monitored for the health of the fetus to develop well./.
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