Efforts to collect social insurance debt, ensure workers' rights

Ho Chi Minh City has more than 30,600 units that are late in paying social insurance, equivalent to more than VND 3,260 billion. Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance and related units have implemented many solutions to urge businesses to pay social insurance, and resolutely collect social insurance debts to ensure the rights of employees.

Workers in trouble

At the end of 2023, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (35 years old), a worker at Thai Tuan Company (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City), had to submit a resignation letter to find a new job because the company owed her salary and social insurance for a long time. While still working at Thai Tuan Company, Ms. Tham was pregnant, and she had to pay all the health check-ups during her pregnancy and childbirth herself because the company owed her social insurance money, and her health insurance card was locked. By the end of December 2023, when Ms. Hong quit her job, the company had just paid all her salary and maternity, but there were still 3 months of social insurance payments left.

According to data from Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, as of December 31, 2023, Ho Chi Minh City had 30,629 units owing social insurance for 1 month or more, with an amount of more than VND 3,260 billion. Of which, 10,615 units owed for 6 months or more, with a total amount of more than VND 2,537 billion. According to Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance Lo Quan Hiep, enterprises owing social insurance money greatly affects the rights of employees, especially in using health insurance for medical examination and treatment, and unemployed employees needing unemployment insurance (UI).

Recently, the Social Insurance of Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many solutions to collect social insurance debts. For cases where the units are slow to pay or have difficulty collecting, the Social Insurance of Ho Chi Minh City has isolated and invited them to propagate and urge them to overcome. In cases where the enterprises are still slow to pay or deliberately do not pay, the Social Insurance of Ho Chi Minh City will organize inspections, draw up administrative records, issue decisions or propose the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to issue decisions on administrative sanctions if violations are detected.

Mr. Lo Quan Hiep acknowledged that the Social Insurance Agency has implemented many solutions and measures to recover late social insurance payments to ensure the rights of social insurance participants. However, due to the prolonged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the world economic situation, the production and business activities of many enterprises in the fields of garment, footwear, wood processing, etc. have encountered difficulties, leading to late social insurance payments. In addition, some enterprises have the ability to pay late social insurance payments but still deliberately do not pay even though the Social Insurance Agency has urged, inspected, checked and handled violations.

Strengthen inspection of enterprises that owe social insurance payments

Faced with the situation that many enterprises still owe large amounts of social insurance, Vietnam Social Security has sent a document to local social security agencies requesting synchronous solutions to increase revenue, reduce late payment amounts, conduct specialized inspections, and handle violations against units that violate the law on social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance. At the same time, closely coordinate with sectors and levels to urge, inspect, and publicize units and individuals who are late in paying social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance.

Vietnam Social Security strictly prohibits the situation of intentionally or not fully promoting the sense of responsibility, allowing enterprises to delay payment or avoid paying social insurance for a long time. In particular, strengthen inspection of units with a large number of employees, large amounts of late social insurance payment or high risk of late payment, affecting the rights of employees. In case of detecting a case with signs of crime of evading payment of social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, promptly prepare a file to request competent authorities to investigate and prosecute.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also requested the heads of departments, branches, sectors, unions, Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, chairmen of district People's Committees, Thu Duc City to develop a plan to organize inspections of enterprises that are late in paying social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance. At the same time, verify, consolidate records and propose to prosecute units that are late in paying social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance; request enterprises that are late in paying social insurance to develop a commitment plan and pay social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance according to schedule...

People do administrative procedures at the Social Insurance of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: DONG SON

In 2023, Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance conducted 3,125 inspections, thereby requesting 1,531 units to recover the social insurance debt of 312 billion VND; requiring units to establish procedures for social insurance participation for 842 employees, with an amount of 6.1 billion VND... Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance issued 238 decisions to sanction administrative violations of social insurance and health insurance with a total amount of 13.1 billion VND, however, only 59 units complied with the sanction decisions with a total fine of 2.2 billion VND.

Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance Lo Quan Hiep said that Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance coordinates with departments, branches and sectors to strengthen the propaganda and dissemination of policies and legal regulations on social insurance and health insurance to raise awareness of law compliance of employers and employees about paying and enjoying social insurance and health insurance. At the same time, regularly carry out the work of urging collection and reducing social insurance debts by solutions: sending notices, providing provisional receivables to units so that units can pay monthly money promptly to the social insurance agency, calling to urge, scheduling direct collection at the unit or inviting units with social insurance debts to the social insurance agency to work and urge debt collection. The social insurance agency also publicly announces the list of units that are 3 months or more behind in paying social insurance.

According to Vietnam Social Security, in recent times, the social security sector has resolutely and flexibly implemented solutions to collect social insurance contributions; inspected, checked, promptly prevented and strictly handled violations of the law on social insurance, unemployment insurance and health insurance by enterprises. As a result, the ratio of late payment compared to the amount to be collected has gradually decreased over the years, from 3.75% (in 2016) to 2.91% (in 2022); social insurance and health insurance benefits of employees are resolved in accordance with regulations.

Ngo Binh

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/no-luc-thu-no-bhxh-dam-bao-quyen-loi-nguoi-lao-dong-post723880.html