Continue to support union members and workers who are furloughed or unemployed

According to Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Phan Van Anh, since September 2022, many businesses have encountered difficulties due to cuts and reductions in orders, leading to a significant number of union members and employees having their working hours reduced and their labor contracts terminated, seriously affecting the jobs, income, and lives of many union members, employees, and their families.

Faced with the above situation, in order to contribute to sharing and reducing difficulties for union members and workers, on January 16, 2023, the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor issued Resolution No. 06/NQ-TLĐ on supporting union members and workers whose working hours have been reduced or whose labor contracts have been terminated due to businesses cutting or reducing orders (Resolution No. 06/NQ-TLĐ).

Accordingly, trade unions at all levels will allocate union financial resources to provide one-time cash support to union members and employees at enterprises and cooperatives (enterprises) that paid union fees before September 30, 2022, whose working hours were reduced or whose labor contracts were terminated from October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. The support level for union members ranges from VND 1 million to VND 3 million. Employees who are not union members will receive support equal to 70% of the support level for employees who are union members.

The Standing Committee of the Presidium also issued Decision No. 6696/QD-TLĐ to implement Resolution No. 06/NQ-DCT.

Up to now, the total number of applications received is 86,528 people; the number of cases that have been assessed as eligible, approved and completed support payments is 81,676 people, accounting for 94.39% of the total number of cases received; the total number of union members supported is 80,042 people, accounting for 98% of the total number of people supported; the total support amount is more than 114,525 billion VND.

The policy to support union members and employees whose working hours are reduced or whose labor contracts are terminated due to businesses cutting or reducing orders is a very meaningful policy, issued promptly by the trade union organization in the context of many businesses facing difficulties in production and business, leading to many union members and employees being negatively affected in terms of employment and reduced wages and income.

According to a report by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs , in the first 5 months of 2023, 509,903 workers lost their jobs, quit their jobs, had their working hours reduced, had their labor contracts suspended or took unpaid leave, accounting for about 3.4% of the total number of employees in enterprises.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits was 393,377, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2022 (363,444 people). The number of people with decisions to receive unemployment benefits was 337,432, a decrease of 0.91% over the same period in 2022 (340,538 people); the average unemployment benefit level of workers nationwide is currently 3.5 million VND/person/month.

In terms of occupations, the number of unemployed workers is concentrated in enterprises such as textiles, footwear, electronic components manufacturing and assembly, and wood processing. Of which, 68,782 workers are in the textile industry, 31,653 in footwear, and 45,075 in the production of electronic components and products.

In enterprises with trade unions, according to reports from localities and units, 192,000 people have had their jobs reduced or lost. Of these, 32.45% have had their working hours reduced or are currently suspended from work with pay; 1.77% have had their labor contracts suspended or have been on unpaid leave; and 65.78% have had their labor contracts terminated.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor forecasts that the labor market in the last 6 months of the year will continue to face many risks and challenges, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the country. The decline in purchasing power in export markets; the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; inflation, rising prices, tight monetary policy... will lead to workers continuing to lose their jobs and have reduced working hours, reduced income, and life facing many difficulties. The difficult situation is forecast to continue until the end of 2023.

Based on the actual situation, the Standing Committee of the Presidium proposed that the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor continue to implement the policy of supporting union members and workers according to Resolution No. 06/NQ-TLĐ.

Support implementation period is from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. Deadline for receiving documents is January 31, 2024.

The deadline for completing support procedures for union members and workers is March 31, 2024 at the latest (due to coinciding with Lunar New Year, more time is needed to process the documents).

Maintain the regulations on subjects, conditions, support levels, procedures, support documents and other regulations... The total estimated cost is about 145 billion VND.

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