Striving to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

On the morning of June 14th, continuing to answer questions from National Assembly deputies, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen clarified issues related to resolving policy benefits for those without original documents; the development of policies for volunteer youth; and measures to narrow the gap between rich and poor in different regions.

No eligible person with meritorious service should be left out.

Responding to a question from delegate Tran Dac Lam (Ninh Thuan) regarding solutions to the problem of collecting the remains of fallen soldiers, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated that recently there have been instances where relatives, through psychics, have brought the remains of fallen soldiers back home, but these remains do not match the soldiers themselves. Therefore, the Government has stipulated that the identification of the remains of fallen soldiers is to be carried out by the Ministry of National Defense.

Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen advised the relatives of fallen soldiers to contact the competent authority, the Ministry of National Defense, to locate their remains. In cases where families have brought the remains of fallen soldiers home but they are not their own, they are allowed to place them in a cemetery but without a headstone. To ensure certainty, the relatives of fallen soldiers should cooperate with local defense agencies to carry out the process using DNA identification, with the costs covered by the Ministry of National Defense.

Regarding the resolution of policy issues for war veterans whose original records have been lost, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated that previously, due to the prolonged war, the requirement for two witnesses to certify eligibility led to many instances of fraud. Therefore, this regulation has been adjusted to rely on documents proving participation in the resistance war for verification. Cases without original records must still be processed. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has assigned the Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, along with local authorities, to verify and review each case individually.

"Those without original records still have a chance. The State still has the responsibility to verify their participation in the resistance, so that they are entitled to the policy," Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen emphasized.

Responding to a question from delegate Pham Minh Tan (Dak Lak) regarding the policies and benefits for youth volunteers participating in the New Economic Development Program in the Central Highlands, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated that from 1975 to 1980, a group of young people participated in this program. However, the target group stipulated in the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for People with Meritorious Contributions to the Revolution does not include the youth volunteer force. Therefore, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs recently received a proposal from Thai Binh province regarding a plan to address the policies and benefits for youth volunteers. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has agreed with this viewpoint and requested Thai Binh province to finalize the plan for submission to the Government for consideration.

Solutions to narrow the gap between rich and poor in society.

Responding to a question from delegate Truong Minh Hoang (Ca Mau) regarding the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs' initiative to narrow the gap between rich and poor across different groups and regions, especially in the Northwest, Central Highlands, and Southwest regions, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen acknowledged that, in the current situation, due to differing economic conditions in each region, particularly the difficult natural conditions of remote areas, low infrastructure, and limited access to development services, people's lives remain difficult; the poverty rate in the three regions of Northwest, Central Highlands, and Southwest still varies greatly.

To rapidly reduce the disparity between these regions, Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated that it is necessary to actively implement existing poverty reduction solutions. The government has also prioritized disadvantaged areas by allocating trillions of dong to invest in infrastructure for 62 poor districts, helping the poor in these areas.

Recently, the Government agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to add 23 disadvantaged districts, nearly 62 of which are poor districts, to receive 70% of the support provided to poor households for infrastructure development. Due to limited budget resources, the Government can only allocate an advance payment to address the immediate issue.

According to Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, it is also necessary to review policies for people in each region to develop specific policies. Each region has particularly difficult areas, so applying only one specific policy would not be appropriate.

Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen suggested that particularly disadvantaged areas should have separate policies. In addition, there should be policies to support and create opportunities for children from remote areas to attend school, gain knowledge, and receive priority in employment policies.

Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen urged businesses, within their capacity, to strive to create opportunities for children from particularly disadvantaged areas to escape poverty. In addition, policy banks should facilitate additional loans for people in particularly disadvantaged areas who lack capital for production development.

Four key points that the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs needs to pay attention to and implement.

Assessing the explanations provided by Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen as quite clear, concise, and succinct, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that vocational training is a very important responsibility with a very wide-ranging impact on the entire population, on employment, and on people's lives.

The Chairman of the National Assembly noted that the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs needs to review, consolidate, and reorganize the system of vocational training institutions; reconsider the curriculum and quality of vocational training for all types of vocational training institutions; and review curricula, teachers, tools, and training methods to ensure better organization, thereby improving the quality of training and meeting the requirements of industrialization and modernization.

Given the situation where many workers who have received vocational training cannot find jobs or require retraining in factories, the Chairman of the National Assembly affirmed that this is a waste of resources and must be reviewed. Training must be balanced with requirements, ensuring relevance, focusing on the quality of input, and adapting to different types of professions, with flexibility to ensure employment needs are met.

According to the Speaker of the National Assembly, it is necessary to expand the socialization of vocational training, link with other countries to improve the quality of training, and businesses in industrial zones can also cooperate with each other to provide training, meeting the labor needs of the businesses themselves.

Regarding the policy of labor cooperation to send workers abroad, the Chairman of the National Assembly affirmed that this policy aims to increase income and alleviate poverty, but also to train labor skills so that workers can better serve the country upon their return.

The Chairman of the National Assembly requested the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to pay more attention to this area, ensuring that labor export provides both income and good compliance with Vietnamese and foreign laws; strictly manage labor export companies, as this is a conditional activity; and simultaneously manage illegal labor export. He also called for improving the quality of labor training before export so that workers not only know the language of the country they will be working in but also understand the laws and culture of that country, and adhere to labor discipline – a crucial factor in developing the overseas labor market.

Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung requested the Ministry to promote the expansion of the labor export market. To date, Vietnam has only exported 500,000 workers, achieving only half of the set target. While the market is still large and the demand for recruitment remains high, the Chairman believes that with good organization, the market can be expanded, agreements can be negotiated and signed with more partners, and various professions can be opened up.

The Chairman emphasized that the priority in the field of labor export is to focus on rural and remote areas, primarily targeting the poor and ethnic minorities. For these groups, preparing to work abroad requires more thorough preparation, longer training periods, and higher training costs.
Regarding the resolution of policies for people with meritorious service, Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung requested the Ministry to review and organize the implementation effectively, ensuring that even without original documents, cases must be resolved, so that no person with meritorious service passes away without receiving their entitlements. Cases of delayed resolution must be retroactively paid, calculated from the date the Law or Decree came into effect, to ensure the rights of the beneficiaries. Resolution procedures should be streamlined, quick, and simple, but must target the correct beneficiaries.

The Chairman also noted that the Ministry of Labour should effectively implement social security policies and strive to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

According to (VNA) - LT