Supporting freelance workers affected by Covid-19: Final article: Promoting government responsibility
(Baonghean.vn) - Decision No. 22/QD-UBND of the People's Committee of Nghe An province regulating support for workers without labor contracts and some other special subjects facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the province is an unprecedented policy. Although the decision was issued in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affecting the socio-economic development goals in the first year of Nghe An implementing the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress, the implementation of support policies shows the understanding and sharing of authorities at all levels, departments and branches with the difficulties that workers have to go through.
Supporting freelance workers affected by Covid-19 - Part 1: Still slow at the grassroots level
(Baonghean.vn) - Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP of the Government with 12 support policies is expected to be a "lifesaver", helping workers and employers affected by the Covid-19 epidemic overcome difficulties, restore production, and ensure their lives.
Many workers have not accessed the policy.
The subjects eligible for support under Decision No. 22 of the Provincial People's Committee may be those who make a living on the sidewalk, in front of the market gate, bus station, train station... They have never asked the authorities at all levels to support them during the most difficult times due to the impact of the pandemic. However, as a mechanism and policy of the State, it must be implemented fairly and promptly. Many freelance workers do not even know that there is a support mechanism for them; many people are guided by the commune and hamlet to complete the application but have not received any support so far.
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| The Fatherland Front Committee of Vinh province and Vinh city presented gifts to support workers affected by the Covid epidemic at Cua Bac flower garden in Vinh city. Photo: PV |
There are currently no official statistics on the number of workers without labor contracts in Nghe An province. Many people believe that the number of these people could be up to hundreds of thousands. They are street vendors, porters, garbage collectors, cyclo drivers, motorbike taxi drivers, construction workers, etc. The income of this group depends on daily living. And Decision No. 22 of the Provincial People's Committee also specifically stated these types of freelance workers. During the periods when Nghe An implemented social distancing according to Directive 15, Directive 16, enhanced Directive 16, etc., the above freelance workers were most affected.
However, when Resolution No. 68 of the Government and Decision No. 22 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province were issued, many freelance workers still could not access the policy. Some localities were slow to implement or implemented with modest results. The reason is said to be that the review at the grassroots level and the commune-level authorities encountered many difficulties; the procedures were complicated.
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| Many freelance workers are expecting to receive support packages from the State. Photo: Mai Hoa |
However, the process of reviewing the application is quite simple: The block, hamlet, and village confirm the application of each subject, then submit it to the commune-level authorities; the commune reviews, verifies, organizes public posting at the block (hamlet, village) cultural house, then transfers it to the district for appraisal and approval. The district transfers the application to the provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Next, the application is transferred to the Department of Finance; the Department of Finance submits it to the Provincial People's Committee...
According to regulations, all procedures and processes for completing the application take 18 days. In particular, the classification, selection, verification and approval of supported subjects are entirely the responsibility of the local authorities.
Experience in Thanh Chuong district
While many localities believe that implementing policies for freelance workers is difficult, some districts have solved this problem well. For example, in Thanh Chuong district, by December 1, 2021, the district had made 16 payments of support money to the group of workers without labor contracts with more than 1,582 billion VND. All freelance workers in the area, if they complete the application, have full confirmation papers, and are verified by the hamlet, block, and commune, will be reviewed, assessed, approved by the District People's Committee and transferred to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province.
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| Thanh Chuong Town. Photo: Document |
By early December 2021, Thanh Chuong had disbursed and paid support to 1,055 beneficiaries, each receiving 1.5 million VND as stipulated in Resolution 68 and Decision 22. There were times when only more than 5 files were still appraised, approved and transferred to higher levels.
To clarify the authenticity of the information, we decided to go to any small business or service establishment in Thanh Chuong. We met Mr. Le Giang Linh (born in 1972), a barber in block 3A, Thanh Chuong town, while he was cutting hair for a customer; when asked, Mr. Giang immediately said: “I just went to receive the support money at 7:30 am (December 1 - PV). I didn't think it would be so fast. I didn't know about this policy, only when the block officer called to guide me on how to make the application did I know. After only 2 weeks, the town officer called to receive the money."
Mr. Le Giang Linh also said that his co-worker, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc (born in 1991), from Thanh Phong commune, also received support money a month ago. "To be honest, workers like us are very excited because in difficult times, the State and authorities at all levels care and worry," Ms. Ngoc shared.
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| Mr. Le Giang Linh, block 3A, Thanh Chuong town is one of the people who received support money. Photo: PB |
Returning to the implementation of Resolution No. 68 and Decision No. 22 of Thanh Chuong district, Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said that the viewpoint of local leaders is that immediately after the policy comes into effect, the entire political system focuses on propagating and disseminating it to the people; no one who is eligible for support cannot access the policies of the Party and the State. The commune-level authorities are assigned the responsibility of urging residential blocks, hamlets, and villages to review workers so that the policy is implemented promptly.
Speaking more about this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoe - Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Thanh Chuong district said that since the implementation of Decision No. 22 of the Provincial People's Committee, from the commune to the district, there have been no complaints from the people. Through the meetings with voters of the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels, there were no comments from the people reflecting on the issue of supporting workers affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.
The above experience in Thanh Chuong district shows that when local authorities work responsibly, all difficulties will be resolved, especially when it is a policy that the province creates favorable conditions for, such as Decision No. 22.
