(QNO) – Recruitment industries are narrowing, criteria for attracting labor resources are increasingly strict, making it difficult for middle-aged workers to find jobs in companies and factories.
Struggling to find a job
Mr. Nguyen Minh Ry (42 years old, Tam Phu commune, Tam Ky city) said that at the end of 2022, he had to quit his job after more than 5 years working for a factory in Quang Ngai . The reason the factory cut staff, including Mr. Ry, was because it was having difficulties with orders.
According to Mr. Ry, he has been with the factory for a long time because he has a stable income of more than 8 million VND per month, enough to cover his daily life.
“The company has few orders, workers like me only work 7 hours a day, no overtime. Anticipating that the company would cut staff, I resigned and looked for new opportunities. However, up to now, no other company has accepted the job,” Mr. Ry shared.
Similarly, Ms. Vo Thi Trang (41 years old, Tam Thang commune, Tam Ky city) said that workers like her only hope to work overtime to improve their income. But last year, her company encountered production difficulties, so she and many other workers were laid off. Having worked for the company since she was 25 years old, Ms. Trang was very disappointed when she heard that she had lost her job halfway.
“Finding a job at other companies is not easy because they only hire young people. During this time, I buy essential household products to sell to improve my income. I don’t know when I will be able to go back to work,” Trang explained.
Proposal to reduce social insurance payment period
Leaving Phu Quoc after nearly 10 years working at a tourism service company, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai followed her husband to Tam Tien (Nui Thanh). But for the past 2 years, Ms. Mai has been running around to all the companies in Tam Thang Industrial Park (Tam Ky City) looking for a job but no company has fulfilled her wish.
“I asked my nephew, who works as a factory worker, to send me my application, but all the companies refused because there are currently no jobs suitable for my environmental service profession,” said Ms. Mai.
Being unemployed, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai was forced to withdraw her social insurance (SI) at one time because her unstable income prevented her from participating in voluntary SI. “Now I only sell on the beach at Tam Thanh, which is not enough to continue paying SI. I just hope that the SI policy should have some provisions such as reducing the time to pay SI so that people have the opportunity to receive legitimate benefits.”
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Minh Ry said that middle-aged workers have a hard time finding a new job after becoming unemployed, so paying enough time to participate in social insurance to receive a pension is not easy at all.
“I know it will be difficult to return to work at the company, so I have to pay social insurance instead of waiting for the reserve to continue paying. The government needs to survey and study the reality to consider reducing the time to pay social insurance for non-state employees. Only then will employees and workers have the opportunity to participate in sustainable social insurance and receive pensions when they retire,” Mr. Ry confided.
In recent dialogues and meetings with voters in industrial zones and clusters, many petitions from textile workers reflect the situation of female workers not being able to work until they have paid the required number of years of social insurance. Or many people, due to illness or being laid off, have to withdraw their social insurance at once and cannot continue to participate.
“I have a herniated disc because I sit at the computer for 8 hours every day, not counting overtime. I don’t know if I can meet the company’s requirements or not, so the possibility of being fired is imminent. So how can I have the opportunity to pay social insurance when I no longer have a source of income? I think the upcoming revised Law on Social Insurance should consider reducing the time to pay social insurance, especially for female workers in private companies, enterprises and factories,” said a worker from Nui Thanh district.
According to Mr. Phan Phuoc An - Head of the Domestic and International Job Consulting Team of the Quang Nam Employment Service Center, in the first 5 months of 2023, nearly 5,000 people in need came to register for unemployment benefits. The files with decisions on monthly unemployment benefits were 1,486 people, including 804 female workers, the cumulative number up to April 30, 2023 was 3,670 people (2,112 female).
Of the 100% of workers who are advised by the center to continue looking for work, only 30% have a real need to return to the labor market. The rest have many reasons such as wanting to change jobs, finding jobs themselves, maternity, housework and even wanting to take a short break...
The labor market in Quang Nam mostly has recruitment needs in the garment, textile, dyeing, mechanical industries, etc., so the appropriate age to meet the demand is from 18 to under 35. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more job opportunities, but after the pandemic, companies and factories recruited less, and most of them required young, healthy workers, so it was more difficult for middle-aged workers to find jobs.
"Employees can search for information about suitable jobs through three channels: the bulletin board at the center, the Smart Quang Nam application and the center's website vieclamquangnam.gov.vn. All will be consulted and supported for free," Mr. An informed.
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