Effectiveness of mediation work at the grassroots level

(Baonghean) - Reality shows that wherever mediation work is done well, security, order and social safety are ensured, and the great solidarity of the people is consolidated and promoted. Behind those achievements are the silent contributions of each mediator. The 14th session of the 16th Provincial People's Council recently issued a Resolution on the level of support for the Mediation Team and mediators, which received high consensus from public opinion, especially mediators at the grassroots level.

Silent contribution

Having the opportunity to meet with people working as mediators at the grassroots level, we can fully understand the hardships of this job, which is considered as “carrying the whole prison and the whole village”. Regardless of the time or the case, whenever there is a request from people in the block, hamlet, village, or commune, they are present at the “hot spot” to handle the case. Dong Nai hamlet, Chau Quang commune, Quy Hop district, is home to 150 households with about 500 people. Unlike other hamlets in the commune, Dong Nai is a bustling trading hamlet, gathering people from many places to live, so it contains many complicated factors. However, with the participation of the mediation team, many cases related to compensation for land clearance, marriage and family have been resolved satisfactorily, reasonably, and amicably. Mr. Vo Manh Hau, hamlet chief and deputy head of the Dong Nai hamlet mediation team, said: “To do a good job of mediation, we also have to spend time learning more about the law, especially the laws related to common cases such as the Law on Marriage and Family and the Land Law, so that we can propagate and explain to those involved in the case to understand clearly. In addition, we invite judicial officers from the commune to the hamlet to propagate and disseminate the law to the people in hamlet meetings. Thereby raising legal awareness among the people to limit civil disputes in the locality.”

Judicial officers of Chau Quang commune and Dong Nai hamlet discuss and disseminate the law to the people.

Chau Quang commune has 26 mediation teams. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho, a judicial officer of the commune, "Thanks to good mediation work right from the grassroots level, the number of petitions sent to higher levels in the commune has been decreasing. Accordingly, in 2012 and 2013, the commune received 15-16 petitions each year, but in 2014 there were only 2 petitions and from the beginning of 2015 until now, it has received 3 petitions."

In Hoang Mai town, facing many issues in building a young town, grassroots mediation work is given special attention. Mr. Nguyen Ba Hao, Chairman of the Town Fatherland Front Committee, said: “In 2014, the issue of site clearance (GPMB) on National Highway 1A, many households in the cleared area had their lives disrupted to some extent; most recently, the GPMB for the Hoa Sen Steel Factory Project... Faced with such incidents that have had a significant impact on the lives and psychology of many people, the Party Committee and the town government have made timely and correct decisions to help stabilize the situation and successfully handle the cases. And in that common success, we must acknowledge the pioneering and effective role of the grassroots mediation team.”

Thus, it can be seen that the grassroots mediator team not only plays an important role in reconciling and resolving disagreements, conflicts, and clashes in people's daily lives, but also in "hot" and climax events related to the local political - economic - social situation, they are also the shock force to resolve deadlocks.

More motivation from reasonable policies

The role of grassroots mediation has been affirmed in practice. Therefore, it is necessary to implement financial support for mediation workers and mediation activities at the grassroots level. Accordingly, in 2014, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution 130 on the content and level of expenditures of a specific nature to ensure the dissemination and education of law in the province, including regulations on the content and level of expenditures for grassroots mediation. However, on July 30, 2014, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice issued a Joint Circular regulating the preparation of estimates, management, use and settlement of state budget funds for grassroots mediation activities, including adding some additional content and changing the level of expenditures for grassroots mediation. Therefore, at the 14th session of the 16th term, the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution 173 on the level of support for the Mediation Team, mediators and the organization of mediator elections at the grassroots level in Nghe An province.

According to Resolution 173, remuneration for mediators is paid at the rate of 200,000 VND/case, work/mediation team. Each mediation team is paid 100,000 VND/team/month to support its activities. In addition, Resolution 173 also specifically stipulates the specific level of payment for members of the organizing committee to elect mediators to attend the meeting to prepare for the election of mediators, and payment for drinks for participants in the meeting to elect mediators. In particular, the new point of the Resolution is to specifically stipulate the level of support for funeral expenses for the person organizing the funeral of a mediator who has an accident or risks losing his life while conducting mediation activities at the grassroots level, at a level equal to 5 months of basic salary. According to the Inspection Report of the Provincial People's Council's Legal Committee on the draft Resolution 173 before the session, the above payment levels are all at the maximum level allowed by the Joint Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice. To concretize the Resolution into life, the Provincial People's Committee also issued a decision regulating the content, expenditure levels, management and use of state budget funds to carry out mediation work at the grassroots level in Nghe An province.

Although the support expenses are not large compared to the work and contributions of the mediators, it can be seen that the Party and State pay attention to mediation work at the grassroots level. Mr. Luong Thanh Phuc, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Quy Hop district, said: “Currently, the district has 287 mediation teams in 287 hamlets and villages. The mediators are all prestigious people, dedicated to their work. The contributions of the mediators are very large but there are no allowances. Therefore, implementing the expenses according to Resolution 173 of the Provincial People's Council will have a great incentive effect on the activities of mediators at the grassroots level.”

With that in mind, when allocating funding sources to localities, there should be specific instructions and requirements for district and commune levels to guide the grassroots to effectively implement Resolution 173. From there, it will contribute to further support for the activities of mediators at the grassroots level.

Article and photos:Nhat Le