Not interested in resolving benefits for contract workers at district-level radio and television stations

Union Perspective

The person who brought up the shortcomings in labor use at district-level radio and television stations for dissection at the 18th Nghe An Trade Union Congress was delegate Nguyen Thi Hoai - Chairwoman of Yen Thanh District Trade Union.

Raising this issue in her speech, Ms. Hoai cited the documents of the province directing the transfer of district-level radio and television stations to the district-level People's Committee for management, including: Decision No. 2456 dated June 28, 2011 of the Provincial People's Committee approving the plan to transfer district-level radio and television stations to the district-level People's Committee for management; Official Dispatch No. 6186 dated October 18, 2011 of the Provincial People's Committee on implementing the plan to transfer district-level radio and television stations.

In Decision 2456, the transfer principle states: "Ensure the activities of the district-level Radio and Television Station are stable and develop...; Transfer the status quo... fully implement the rights, obligations and regimes for cadres, civil servants, and workers...".

The Chairman of the Yen Thanh District Trade Union pointed out the shortcomings in the use of contract labor at district-level radio and television stations at the 18th Nghe An Trade Union Congress. Photo: Duc Anh.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai specifically reflected a reality: "However, the transfer process from the provincial station to the district station does not ensure the policies currently enjoyed by contract workers according to regulations.

Accordingly, the District People's Committee only supports workers with 85% of the salary level 1 of their current professional qualifications and salary contributions, and assigns the Station Chief to sign a transitional labor contract annually for a period of 1 year. Therefore, there are workers who were previously enjoying a salary coefficient of 3.33 (level 4), but when converted, they returned to 85% of level 1 with a coefficient of 2.34; and have so far signed 6 more labor contracts for 6 years of work. Re-signing a labor contract once a year is a violation of the provisions of the Labor Code.

Some workers have had to quit their jobs because they were not guaranteed salary regimes. Currently, Yen Thanh Radio and Television Station still has 4 contract workers. And these contract workers do not dare to confirm whether the salary support will be implemented long-term or not?Just because it is “support”, it can be cut off at any time. This is a common situation in district-level radio and television stations across the province. And recently, Quy Hop Radio and Television Station terminated the labor contracts with 4 reporters, which is a typical example…”.

On April 9, 2018, the Inspection Committee of the Vietnam Journalists Association issued Official Dispatch No. 39/HNB-BKT requesting the People's Committee of Quy Hop District to comment on the case of 4 reporters of Quy Hop Radio and Television Station having their contracts terminated. Because: "This case is creating multi-dimensional public opinion, attracting the attention of journalists and people across the country." Photo: PV

Ms. Hoai suggested: “The Provincial People's Committee should direct and have solutions in implementing Decision No. 2456 dated June 28, 2011 and Official Dispatch No. 6186 dated October 18, 2011. In order to ensure the rights and benefits for employees according to the provisions of law so that employees can work with peace of mind...”.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai, the current situation at district-level radio and television stations is not due to lack of attention from district-level People's Committees, but due to objective difficulties that can only be resolved by provincial-level agencies...

Ensuring workers' rights

After Nghe An Newspaper published articles related to the Quy Hop Radio and Television Station terminating the contracts with 4 reporters, many reporters working at district-level radio and television stations in the province shared their real situation regarding work, regimes, and benefits. In short, they were all basically filled with worries and concerns.

After terminating the contract with 4 reporters, Quy Hop Radio and Television Station still has to rely on these people to keep professional work from being interrupted. Photo: PV

It is known that the Provincial People's Committee has clarified and proposed solutions to resolve the shortcomings at the district-level radio and television stations. Specifically, on August 16, 2013, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to listen to the report on the results and resolve the problems at the district-level radio and television stations after 2 years of transfer to the District People's Committee for management. On August 28, 2013, the Provincial People's Committee issued Notice No. 405 concluding on this content.

According to Notice 405, the shortcomings and problems that exist at district-level radio and television stations are slow organizational stability, confusion in management and operation; units have a number of contract workers and limited budget, so the salary and allowance regime for contract workers is not guaranteed. The allocation of staffing quotas for stations is not reasonable...

In this announcement, the Provincial People's Committee requests the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to organize the development of a job position project at the district station, specifying specific job titles and the number of employees; and to organize a review of the number of contracts that have been transferred for effective use. In case of surplus after developing a job position project, there must be a specific handling plan for each case (transfer to another public service unit if possible; terminate labor contracts for workers with inappropriate occupations, who do not meet standards, etc.).

The case of 4 reporters having their contracts terminated: Waiting for the province's instructions?

(Baonghean.vn) - Although the labor contracts of 4 reporters have been terminated, Quy Hop Radio and Television Station still has to rely on these people to maintain professional activities; while the People's Committee of Quy Hop district has difficulty in resolving petitions.

Regarding the Department of Home Affairs, the Provincial People's Committee directs: Take the lead in coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications, the Provincial Radio and Television Station to review the assignment of staffing quotas for stations to suit the actual situation of each locality... On that basis, advise the Provincial People's Committee to adjust staffing and contracts for stations accordingly. Provide guidance on unifying procedures for contract staff after transfer to the District People's Committees for management (currently, there is a situation where some districts re-sign contracts for contract staff, some districts think that because they have received the transfer, they automatically consider that the contract has already been signed and there is no need to re-sign, some districts are waiting for instructions...).

As for the Department of Finance, the Provincial People's Committee directed: Advise the Provincial People's Committee to continue to partially support the budget for the number of contracts at district stations (the number of contracts received at the time of handover) until the end of 2014. From 2015, the District People's Committees will proactively allocate budget to pay salaries and allowances for contract staff. Issue specific guidance documents on policies and regimes so that district stations have a basis to develop annual operation plans.

At the end of 2016, the Department of Finance sent Document No. 4010 on salary support for long-term contracts at district radio and television stations to the Provincial People's Committee. Accordingly, the Department of Finance advised the Provincial People's Committee to support 70% of the basic salary to pay for contracts at radio and television stations until the end of 2016. From 2017 to 2020, the budget allocation estimate for district-level radio and television stations will be included in the budget allocation estimate for cultural, physical education and sports activities. Accordingly, in addition to the quota according to the payroll assigned by the competent authority, the quota according to population criteria will also be calculated and additional special funds and other expenses for unit operations will be added.

The reporters whose contracts were terminated still help their former agency in their professional work. They hope that the provincial authorities will clarify the reason for their contract termination, while Quy Hop Radio and Television Station lacks professional staff. Photo: PV

It must be affirmed once again that a few years ago, the Provincial People's Committee and a number of departments and branches had thoroughly understood the shortcomings at the district-level radio and television stations and proposed specific solutions to resolve them. Therefore, the reason why the district-level radio and television stations still have shortcomings is that the solutions proposed by the Provincial People's Committee have not been implemented.

Therefore, from the incident of 4 reporters of Quy Hop Radio and Television Station having their labor contracts terminated, it is recommended that the Provincial People's Committee and relevant sectors once again inspect and review the use of contract labor at Radio and Television Stations; re-evaluate the implementation of the Provincial People's Committee's direction in Notice No. 405... From there, rectify and thoroughly resolve existing shortcomings at district-level Radio and Television Stations, ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of workers.

The termination of contracts of 4 reporters needs to be carefully considered.

(Baonghean) - In mid-March 2018, Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from 4 reporters of Quy Hop Radio and Television Station, reflecting that they were suddenly notified by the unit to terminate their labor contracts; and this unilateral action did not comply with the provisions of the labor law. Upon investigation, this incident has many troubling aspects...