Strengthen coordination and increase deterrence against businesses that owe social insurance

Quan Nam Construction and Trading Services Joint Stock Company in Hamlet 17, Nghi Phu Commune, Vinh City is a business operating in the field of passenger transport, car rental with and without driver, serving tours in and out of the province. For more than 43 months now, the company has owed social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance to its employees with a total amount of over 282 million VND.

As one of the enterprises with a long debt period, recently, the joint inspection team of Social Insurance - Provincial Police came to work with the leadership of Quan Nam Construction and Trade Services Joint Stock Company. At the meeting, the business owner explained that the reason for the debt was due to the difficult business situation; on the other hand, some seasonal employees only worked for about 1-2 months and then quit, so "the accounting department did not monitor closely"...

In discussion with the inspection team, the business owner requested to delay payment for a period of time to manage the business and committed to settling all debts for employees. The Social Insurance Inspectorate and the Economic Police Department - Provincial Police informed the business owner about sanctions for violations in the field of Social Insurance, Health Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance; at the same time, they emphasized that the company's failure to pay insurance policies has seriously affected the rights of employees.

The specialized inspection team worked at Kien Viet Design and Trading Consulting Joint Stock Company - a company that owes more than 122 million VND in social insurance and unemployment insurance. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Similar to Quan Nam Construction and Trading Services Joint Stock Company is Binh An Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company in Hamlet 6, Quynh Tan Commune, Quynh Luu District. Operating in the field of stone, sand and gravel mining, serving civil construction projects in the area, however, by the end of September 2018, the company owed more than 194 million VND in social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance, lasting 40 months.

At the meeting with the Inspection Team, the business representative also pledged to pay off the above debt, even though the unit is facing many difficulties in production and business at this time.

In the first 10 months of 2018, the provincial Social Insurance coordinated with Nghe An Provincial Police to establish 2 special inspection teams to inspect the payment of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance at 23 employers in the province. The 23 units subject to inspection were all units that were late in paying social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance with large amounts of money and over a long period of time.

Immediately after being established, the inspection teams went to work directly at each enterprise; carried out professional activities, investigated the causes of outstanding debts, resolved difficulties with enterprises, resolutely clarified the responsibilities of leaders and advised on the issuance of handling decisions in accordance with the provisions of law.

In particular, with the participation of the Economic Police Department - Provincial Police, the transparent and impartial work of the inspection team, the awareness of law compliance of the majority of employers has been improved. Many enterprises with outstanding social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance debts, although operating in difficult conditions, have committed to paying off all debts, ensuring the rights of employees.

The joint inspection of the Social Insurance and Provincial Police Departments for enterprises owing social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance. Photo: Phuoc Anh

As of October 30, 2018, the Provincial Social Insurance and the Provincial Police have inspected 17 enterprises with outstanding debts, of which 14 units have paid the amount of 4.91 billion VND. The Provincial Social Insurance has also issued 3 Decisions to handle administrative violations against 3 units due to late payment of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance, of which 1 unit has paid the fine according to regulations with the amount of over 62.9 million VND.

Mr. Tran Van Phuong - Head of the Inspection and Examination Department, Provincial Social Insurance affirmed: "The process of handling violations in the field of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance is implemented very strictly, from announcing the inspection decision to directly inspecting each enterprise. In case the enterprise does not comply with the inspection conclusion, the Director of Provincial Social Insurance will issue a decision to sanction administrative violations.

In cases where penalties have been imposed but the case is still not resolved, the provincial Social Insurance will transfer the case to the Provincial Police investigation agency according to Article 216 of the Penal Code for consideration and handling according to the law. The accompaniment of the Economic Police Department - Provincial Police during the inspection and examination process has contributed to increasing deterrence, demonstrating the strictness of the law and about 80% of the units when the delegation came to work complied with the inspection conclusion and committed to paying the debt.

The coordination between the provincial Social Insurance sector and the provincial Police in handling violations in the fields of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance is carried out on the basis of the coordination regulations between Vietnam Social Insurance and the General Department of Crime Prevention Police, and the inter-sectoral regulations between the provincial Social Insurance and the Economic Police Department of the provincial Police.

The coordination focuses on exchanging and providing information on the Party's policies, the State's policies and laws, and professional activities of the industry related to the fields of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance; records of violations of the law in the fields of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance such as records of correcting information on other people's health insurance cards to go to medical examination and treatment; records of borrowing other people's health insurance cards and identity papers with fake photos to go to health insurance; records of settling sick leave regimes with signs of forgery...

Based on the information exchanged and provided, the Provincial Police Department has directed the Economic Police Department to proactively deploy professional measures, promptly notify the plots, methods and tricks of all types of crimes in the field of social insurance, health insurance and other violations of the law so that the Nghe An Provincial Social Insurance can proactively prevent and have a plan to coordinate prevention and effective combat.

In addition, in the past year, Nghe An Social Insurance has requested the Economic Police Department - Provincial Police to provide identity card data as a basis for organizing post-inspection of information adjustment on social insurance records at district-level social insurance. In the coordination work to resolve complaints and denunciations of violations in the field of social insurance and health insurance, in early 2017, Nghe An Social Insurance transferred 1 denunciation with signs of crime in the field of health insurance to the Economic Police Department for handling./.

Regarding this issue, on November 16, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 8797/UBND-VX on strengthening the direction of debt collection of social insurance and health insurance in 2018 in the province, clearly assigning responsibilities and tasks to relevant individuals, units, agencies, departments and branches.

In particular, Nghe An Provincial Police are assigned to coordinate with the provincial Social Insurance to conduct propaganda on preventing and combating crimes that violate the law as well as the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws and policies in the fields of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance; coordinate with the provincial Social Insurance to conduct regular and surprise inspections and checks to handle according to the law on cases and acts of criminal law violations on social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance.