Make the most of this "golden opportunity"

Developing sustainable employment and transforming employment policies into a national competitive advantage in the digital age and in the context of streamlining the administrative apparatus – though difficult, we can and must achieve this, first and foremost by maximizing the "golden opportunity" from the comprehensive revision of the Employment Law.

The draft Law on Employment (amended) will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the Ninth Session, which opens in early May. Despite numerous previous revisions, this is undoubtedly the most challenging revision to the law due to the profound impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence, and the revolution in organizational streamlining, which are posing entirely new demands on employment policies and laws. A comprehensive revision of the Law on Employment is also a " golden opportunity to institutionalize the major orientations of Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, turning employment policies into a competitive advantage in the digital age."

The draft law presented at the 7th National Assembly's specialized working session recently included very important revisions, with many new and progressive points compared to the current law. However, given the special context of this revision as mentioned above, many aspects still need further careful review to find appropriate regulations, possibly within the Employment Law itself or in detailed implementing documents.

National Assembly Deputy Tran Van Khai ( Ha Nam ): Amending the Employment Law is a golden opportunity to institutionalize the major orientations of Resolution 57, transforming employment policy into a competitive advantage in the digital age.

First, in order for workers to adapt to the digital age, the bill must continue to review and fully institutionalize the major orientations of Resolution 57 of the Politburo. A specific example is the policy on developing digital human resources. According to some National Assembly deputies, the bill "seems to lack depth" as it only provides general regulations on vocational skills training without emphasizing digital skills training and upgrading the technological capabilities of workers; the principle of valuing talent is also not mentioned much, while this should be an important orientation to attract technology experts and encourage businesses to employ and appropriately reward highly qualified personnel.

Regulations on the digital infrastructure of the labor market are also considered to be unable to leverage their potential as a competitive advantage. The draft law focuses on building a centralized, state-managed labor market information system, failing to connect with private job platforms – which possess abundant data on labor supply and demand. The principle of open data has not been established, nor has the application of big data technology in analysis and forecasting been considered. This will hinder the formation of an open ecosystem to promote and create jobs quickly and sustainably. The mechanism for promoting innovative employment in the draft law is also vague and lacks breakthrough incentives. Many new forms of employment in the digital economy are not clearly recognized in the draft law, easily leading to a "ban if you can't manage it" mentality, while lacking flexible regulations to create breakthroughs for innovative startups, risking the loss of many job opportunities in the digital economy.

On the other hand, in the context of the current revolution to streamline the organizational structure, the employment policies in the draft law must also be evaluated more thoroughly. When the amended Employment Law was submitted to the National Assembly at the Eighth Session, we were only preparing to streamline the organizational structure at the central level, with an estimated 100,000 people expected to be affected. In the past nearly six months, with the determination of the entire political system, we have completed the restructuring of central and provincial agencies and are resolutely preparing the conditions to continue restructuring and merging provinces, eliminating district-level organizations, and continuing the restructuring at the commune level.

A large number of officials, civil servants, and employees will leave the public sector to join the private sector after the restructuring. The immediate and long-term employment policies to support this group are a matter of particular concern, helping them quickly stabilize their lives while also reducing the burden on the State in addressing the benefits and policies for these restructured officials. As suggested by National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh, it is necessary to develop flexible employment models and implement mechanisms and policies to support job creation and job transitions for those affected by the organizational restructuring, or to prioritize businesses and organizations in recruiting these restructured officials, civil servants, and employees.

Therefore, developing sustainable employment and transforming employment policies into a national competitive advantage in the digital age and in the context of streamlining the administrative apparatus – though difficult, we can and must achieve this. First and foremost, we must seize the "golden opportunity" from the comprehensive revision of the Employment Law. From now until the Ninth Session, there is still enough time to continue to thoroughly review, meticulously assess, and fully institutionalize the Party's viewpoints and policies to make more accurate, relevant, and comprehensive revisions to this law.

Quynh Chi

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/tranh-thu-toi-da-co-hoi-vang-post408696.html