"Civil servants who steal umbrellas" hinder labor productivity.

According to Mr. Bui Sy Loi: Assuming the figure of 1/3 of civil servants "carrying their umbrellas to work in the morning and carrying them back home in the evening" is correct, this number has hindered labor productivity.

Speaking to the press at the Social Dialogue, Productivity and Working Conditions Workshop (organized by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the ILO) held on the morning of October 24th in Hanoi, Mr. Bui Sy Loi – Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs – affirmed: Assuming the figure of 1/3 of civil servants "carrying an umbrella to work in the morning and carrying it back home in the evening" is correct, then this number clearly hinders the productivity of society.

What causes Vietnam's labor productivity to be low?

Mr. Bui Sy Loi stated: "The statement that 700,000 civil servants are working inefficiently stems from expert predictions. I think it could be more, or it could be less. But assuming this is true, it's clear that one-third of civil servants have very low productivity, hindering the overall productivity of society."

Inefficient civil servants hinder labor productivity (Image for illustrative purposes only)

However, we haven't been able to answer whether this figure is actually accurate or not. The government hasn't been able to answer the National Assembly either. A minister from a previous term said it was around 1%, based on reports from various agencies, but nobody believed him. That's the reality of society, but whether it's actually 30% or not, nobody can confirm.

"Clearly, we need to find a way to manage this group, because if we rely on the state, how can the country develop? It's a waste of trillions of dong every year to support this force," Mr. Bui Sy Loi asserted.

At the conference, many opinions suggested that Vietnam's low labor productivity partly stems from the increasing unemployment rate among young people, especially skilled workers. Significantly, the more trained and capable a worker is, the higher the unemployment rate tends to be.

Mr. Bui Sy Loi

For example, 9% of vocational college graduates are unemployed, and 4% of university graduates are unemployed. To date, approximately 191,000 university graduates have been unable to find jobs or are currently unemployed. This is truly disheartening and clearly requires reconsideration, as it represents a waste of human resources and training.

Vietnam's training scale is enormous, with over 450 universities and colleges "competing" to recruit students and provide training. Sadly, however, the trained workforce is not being utilized, resulting in significant costs not only for the state but also for the workers themselves and their families.

Challenges to increasing labor productivity

According to Bui Sy Loi, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs, in Vietnam, only 30% of the 54 million workers aged 15 and over are employed in the formal sector, while the remaining 70% are in the informal sector. Therefore, unemployment, underemployment, and the demand for increased labor productivity cannot be applied solely to the formal labor sector.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep also acknowledged that Vietnam's deeper integration into the global economy promises increasing economic benefits, a more open labor market, technology transfer, and increased labor productivity. In this context, Vietnam faces the challenges of improving productivity and working conditions, and promoting dialogue. In particular, those working in the informal economy are often left behind.

Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep stated that Vietnam has been implementing a comprehensive set of solutions to boost labor productivity, improve working conditions, and strengthen social dialogue. These solutions focus on the strong and comprehensive development of human resources, accelerating high-quality vocational training; encouraging businesses to provide vocational training for their employees and to cooperate with vocational training institutions.

Simultaneously, develop and implement a national program on occupational safety in stages; promote the improvement of working conditions in small and medium-sized enterprises; and amend the Labor Code to align with international standards.

The Swiss experience

Mr. Boris Zurcher

Sharing his experience on the factors contributing to Switzerland's labor productivity, Boris Zurcher, State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department for Economic Affairs, stated that labor productivity in Switzerland is very high. This stems from several factors. Firstly, investment in human resources, such as developing workers' skills and mechanisms to enable workers to participate in the labor market. Switzerland allocates 60% of its GDP to investing in human resource development.

Secondly, Switzerland has a labor market mechanism. This mechanism is very flexible and open, allowing workers to participate in the market through various mechanisms. Thirdly, it builds labor relations and social labor dialogue. This mechanism helps both workers and employers to engage in dialogue and improve working conditions and employment.

“We have built an integrated market mechanism in which businesses can participate in global value chains, thereby giving them the opportunity to improve labor productivity. Investing in technical and vocational training systems is also a good mechanism that Vietnam can consider to help increase labor productivity even further,” said Boris Zurcher.

According to VOV