LookAtVietnam – Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa spoke to Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam about a support package for workers.

But, in fact, the job losses occurred mostly from late 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. Then the rate of job loss gradually slowed down. About 100,000 jobs had been lost in 2009 by September this year. This figure is significantly lower than our forecast.

Since June this year, there was actually a severe shortage of workers in many provinces and cities. HCM City, for example, is facing a shortage of over 100,000 workers, while southern Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces are in need of 40,000 workers each.

The ministry plans to work with provinces and cities to find solutions for the problem.

Did Decision 30/2009/QD-TTg on supporting workers who lost their jobs prove effective?

Government Decision 30/2009/QD-TTg is part of the Government stimulus pol-icy to provide timely support to workers who lost their jobs in 2009.

To effectively implement the decision, the ministry worked with the Ministry of Finance and related ministries and agencies to compile and issue a decree to guide the implementation of the decision.

The ministry has also actively guided departments of labour, invalids and social affairs to study unemployed workers’ demand for loans from the National Employment Fund, as well as their demand for vocational training and opportunities to work abroad and other related policies.

The ministry has asked its job centres and vocational training centres to create more programmes targeting newly unemployed workers as a key task.

This is an active policy of the Government to create favourable conditions for workers to stabilise their life by helping them get loans from the National Employment Fund or Social Welfare Banks. This policy has also helped businesses to get loans with a zero interest rate to pay salaries for workers and pay social insurance debts.

However, not so many workers get access to this source of loans, and the number of businesses applying for loans to pay for their salaries and social insurance debts was limited.

Why are businesses not interested in this credit with such attractive interest rate?

I think one of the reasons why businesses have not applied for this credit with the zero interest rate, because they don’t need it.

In addition, Decision No 30/2009/QD-TTg only allowed businesses to get loans to pay for their salary debts in 2009, while a majority of businesses encountered difficulties starting in late 2008 when the crisis had strong impacts on production and trade. Therefore, the ministry has proposed the Government expand beneficiaries of this policy.

Many people think the Government should approve a proposal for a second stimulus package. If this is approved, would the ministry also propose extending the policy that supports workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the economic crisis? Will the ministry be putting forth any proposals to develop the labour market?

The ministry does not intend to extend support for workers, because job losses have dropped sharply.

It has been proposed to the Government that the second stimulus package should focus on sectors that employ a large number of workers for the greatest impact.

An increase in the minimum salary for workers should be taken into consideration and may be implemented in early 2010. This is a method to help workers get a more reasonable salary level.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News