Nghe An: Exported workers send home more than 250 million USD/year

Overview of the working session. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Mr. Bui Sy Loi - Permanent Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs led the delegation. Joining the delegation was Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province.

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Cao Thi Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and representatives of relevant departments, branches and sectors.

The monitoring delegation questioned many "hot" issues related to the situation of Nghe An workers working abroad and foreign workers working in Nghe An; the situation of revenue, expenditure, management and use of social insurance funds in 2017; and the implementation of the law on prevention and control of domestic violence.

Mr. Dang Cao Thang - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs stated the current situation of Nghe An workers working abroad. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Reporting to the monitoring delegation, Mr. Dang Cao Thang - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said that on average, Nghe An annually sends 12,000 - 13,000 people to work abroad for a limited period; currently, the number of Nghe An workers working abroad is more than 60,989 people; the foreign currency revenue sent back to the country through banks reaches more than 250 million USD/year. However, the quality of workers participating in labor export is still low, the rate of unskilled workers is still high, from 60% - 70%.

In addition, the problem of illegal labor export and illegal immigration to work and reside in some countries is still a concern. In addition to the number of illegal laborers in Korea, which is the largest in the country, Nghe An currently has 12,435 Nghe An workers working in border areas without contracts according to the provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad.

The Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has repeatedly emphasized that the province has done many things to limit this situation, coordinating with the Department of Overseas Labor, the local cultural sector, etc., but it is still very difficult. "We have done all our homework!" - Mr. Thang said.

Unlike the problems of Nghe An workers going to work abroad, the management of foreign workers working in Nghe An is considered systematic and in the right direction. Currently, the number of foreign workers working in Nghe An is 281 people, of which experts account for the largest number with 149 people. This is consistent with the strategy of attracting foreign workers with high qualifications and skills.

Vinh City General Hospital deploys "Smart Software" application, helping patients swipe their health insurance cards to get a queue number quickly and accurately. Photo courtesy

At the working session, in the field of social insurance and health insurance, the Director of Nghe An Social Insurance frankly acknowledged that the province's health insurance fund deficit is currently the highest in the country - with the health insurance fund used being 1,962 billion VND, the amount spent on health insurance in 2017 being 3,417 billion VND, the deficit being 1,454 billion VND corresponding to 74%.

The head of the provincial Social Insurance sector analyzed the objective and subjective reasons leading to the deficit: due to the adjustment of technical service prices and changes in the district-level interconnected health care policy; due to limitations in awareness and responsibility in managing the health care fund for health insurance; due to the prices prescribed in Circular No. 37 of some technical services being too high compared to reality...

In the family field, members of the monitoring delegation also asked many questions about state management, the responsibilities of local Party committees, authorities, and functional agencies in collecting statistics and handling domestic violence cases.

Mr. Bui Sy Loi concluded the working session. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Concluding the working session, Mr. Bui Sy Loi - Permanent Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs acknowledged and highly appreciated the results that Nghe An province has achieved in the above-mentioned fields. However, he also noted that in the field of labor, the province needs to promote measures to educate, propagate, and raise awareness among workers about the spirit and responsibility of citizens when working in foreign countries; at the same time, strengthen the role of state management of foreign workers residing and working in the area.

Along with that, the functional sector needs to continue to strengthen inspection, examination and supervision in the work of social insurance and health insurance to ensure the rights of workers and patients. Regarding the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence, the Standing Vice Chairman of the Committee for Social Affairs requested that all levels and sectors promote propaganda work to the right target, with focus; mobilize the synchronous participation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and organizations and unions to monitor, detect and promptly handle cases.