Enterprises owe social insurance: Workers' rights are violated

(Baonghean)As workers, there are people who have been with the Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company for more than 30 years, but when they retire, they cannot close their books and do not receive pensions because the company owes social insurance. That situation pushes many poor workers into dire straits...

Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company was formerly Road Construction Company 1 - Nghia Dan. After 2005, due to many economic violations, the old apparatus was no longer in operation, the company was converted into a joint stock company with a new name, Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company. Also during this transition period, because the company no longer had as many projects as before, many workers were unemployed.



Headquarters of Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company.

Faced with that situation, many workers have voluntarily paid 100% of the insurance premium (28.5% of monthly salary) in the hope that after working for enough years, they will receive a pension. However, up to now, there are 15 people who have closed their insurance books since 2009 but they have not received their pension. Along with that, many benefits of workers related to insurance such as health insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity and sick leave... are also not available. After nearly 3 years of traveling back and forth between Vinh and Nam Dan to claim his rights, Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen (Mai Hac De block - Nam Dan town), a former worker of construction factory 4, was upset: I have contributed to the company since 1985, more than 20 years of work, but when I reached retirement age, I had to live off the salary of my wife and children. Life is very difficult. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Truong (Hamlet 11, Nghi Trung Commune, Nghi Loc District) is nearly 60 years old this year, in poor health, often has to go to the hospital for check-ups, but because he does not have a health insurance card, all his expenses have not been paid for a long time. Without a salary, and also losing money on hospital fees, his family is in a very difficult situation.

The reason for the delay in paying benefits to employees at the Road and Bridge Construction Joint Stock Company is that this unit currently owes more than 2 billion VND in social insurance contributions. In 2010, for this reason, the Provincial Social Insurance filed a lawsuit against this unit in court. However, after conciliation in court, the company has only paid 150,000,000 VND. Currently, according to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dung - Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director of the company, the company has not yet accurately counted how many people in the company have not paid enough insurance, because the number of employees fluctuates over time. The company itself is currently in the "recovery" period, but because it has not paid enough social insurance, many employees are not entitled to benefits.

Mr. Dung explained: "Business in the road and bridge industry has been difficult for the past two years." The company is also in debt of more than 40 billion VND, so it cannot afford to pay insurance for its workers. In addition, the previous insurance debt is a legacy of history, so the members of the Board of Directors do not agree to bear the "consequences" of the past.

According to Mr. Tran Van Huyen - Director of Vinh City Social Insurance, the above viewpoint is not in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Law, because the Law stipulates: If a unit carries out a merger, consolidation or separation of an enterprise, the successor employer must be responsible for continuing to use the existing workforce and continue to fulfill its obligations to the employees. As for Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company, in the past, the City Social Insurance has issued many documents on debt notices as well as handling directions for the company to find ways to resolve outstanding social insurance debts. On August 8, 2012, the Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company issued a written commitment to pay the debt, in which it affirmed that in August 2012 it would pay 200,000,000 VND, the remaining amount of more than 2 billion VND would be paid in full before December 31, 2012. But in reality, up to now, the Social Insurance has not received any money.

From this entanglement, it is unknown when the workers at Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company will be able to enjoy benefits under the Labor Law. The main responsibility to resolve this issue belongs to Nghe An Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company, which is clear, but it cannot be resolved "overnight". Currently, workers are hoping that the Insurance industry should have a separate policy to resolve those who have paid enough insurance and reached retirement age, so that they can enjoy retirement benefits under the State's regulations.

My Ha