Unemployment Insurance contribution rate will be reduced

The government plans to reduce about 0.5% of unemployment insurance contributions for employees.

At the government press conference on the afternoon of April 3, Minister - Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said that at the recent regular Government meeting, the Government discussed the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on adjusting the contribution level to the unemployment insurance fund (UIF) for employers.

The unemployment insurance fund has a large surplus due to poor spending on training to help workers improve their skills (photo by Lao Dong Newspaper).

Discussing further on this issue, Mr. Pham Luong Son - Deputy General Director of Vietnam Social Security said: The surplus of the Unemployment Insurance Fund is actually a virtual surplus. Currently, with the current contribution situation, it is uncertain that in the near future there will be a source to ensure the rights of workers. That fund must be spent on training for workers to supplement their skills, but businesses cannot do it, so there is a surplus.

In difficult socio-economic conditions, at the request of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Government should reduce about 0.5% of unemployment insurance contributions for employees.

"The Government has a Resolution, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has a guiding Circular, then the Social Insurance will adjust the unemployment insurance contribution rate" - Mr. Pham Luong Son said.

As of December 31, 2016, the balance of the Unemployment Insurance Fund was VND 58,668 billion, an increase of VND 9,487 billion, equivalent to an increase of 19.29% compared to 2015. The annual expenditure of the Unemployment Insurance Fund only accounted for about 44.1%.

The reason why the Unemployment Insurance Fund has such a large surplus, according to Mr. Bui Sy Loi - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs, is because the Unemployment Insurance payment is mainly for subsidies. The goal of supporting vocational training and job counseling is low. Many workers after losing their jobs do not receive career guidance or vocational training to continue to integrate into the labor market.

Along with that, due to the poor application of information technology and network connection between Social Insurance and Employment Service Centers in provinces and centrally-run cities, there is a situation where workers change jobs but still enjoy unemployment insurance policies even though they are still employed./.

According to VOV