Facing difficulties due to Covid-19 infection

According to the Management Board of provincial Industrial Parks, the whole province has tens of thousands of workers infected with Covid-19. The pandemic has caused many workers to temporarily stop working. The actual number of employees working at enterprises decreased by about 30,000 compared to before.

Staff of the health station of Van Trung commune (Viet Yen district) takes a worker’s samples for Covid-19 testing.

Tu Quoc Hieu, Director of the provincial Department of Health, said that for Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms who have to stop working for concentrated medical quarantine and treatment at field hospitals and Covid-19 treatment facilities, there are already specific documents guilding the application for a certificate to enjoy social insurance benefits.

However, for those under home quarantine and treatment, applied from 2022, Circular 56 of the Ministry of Health guiding the implementation of the Law on Social Insurance and the Law on Occupational Safety and Health in the field of health, issued on December 20, 2017, has not been mentioned yet. Therefore, now the health stations of communes, wards and townships and mobile medical stations do not have any basis to give certification to employees to enjoy social insurance benefits.

Recognising that the settlement of social insurance benefits for workers when they have to take a leave due to the pandemic is a legitimate interest of them, the Department of Health has proposed the Ministry of Health soon adjust and supplement a number of articles in Circular 56. While waiting for instructions from the ministry, the department has directed health stations to strengthen communications and explanations so that employees can understand and focus on care and treatment for early recovery.

Promoting the role of trade unions

Facing difficulties in procedures for settling social insurance benefits for employees as F0s under home treatment, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Health, and the provincial social insurance agency have guided enterprises to count the number of workers who are F0s under home treatment to recommend relevant ministries and agencies to focus on removing the difficulties.

A production line at the Nam Chau Garment Joint Stock Company in Dai Lam commune (Lang Giang district).

A representative of the provincial social insurance agency said that the unit will ensure all benefits for employees infected with Covid-19 as soon as it receives a written instruction from the Ministry of Health and all related documents. In the immediate future, workers need to keep important documents such as the decision on quarantine, the certificate for completion of quarantine and treatment period; the certificate confirming the test results by the health authorities to serve as a basis for enjoying social insurance benefits.

To share difficulties with workers infected with Covid-19, businesses have taken a number of measures to take care of them. For example, at the Tien Dat Garment Import Export Co., Ltd in Hau village, Dai Lam commune (Lang Giang district), in addition to wages calculated by product, workers are paid about 2 million VND more each month for diligence, gasoline and productivity bonus...so their average income is from 7 to 10 million VND per month.

Foreign enterprises also apply practical policies to take care of workers’ life. The Haem Vina Co., Ltd., in the Song Khe - Noi Hoang Industrial Park (Yen Dung district) has more than 1,000 workers. From the worker life support fund of the trade union, each worker infected with Covid-19 will be supported 300,000 VND. For employees who take a short leave at home for Covid-19 treatment, instead of waiting for completing procedures to enjoy social insurance benefits, the employees are guided by the company to include the period in their total permitted leave days to enjoy maximum benefits.

Currently, many businesses are facing difficulties due to the high number of workers infected with Covid-19. Fortunately, the percentage of workers who received the first injection reached nearly 99 percent, the second shot 98 percent and the third about 83 percent. Therefore, when they got infected, they had no or mild symptoms and the test results turned negative after 5-7 days of quarantine. The Department of Health has issued a document indicating that after the treatment process finishes, workers can return to work to stabilize production activities.

Meeting honours frontline workers in Covid-19 fight

Hanoi City authorities held a meeting with representatives of the medical workers and frontline forces who have participated in the fight against the Covid-19 on February 22, on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of Vietnamese Doctors' Day.

Increasing workers’ benefits with collective bargaining agreement

(BGO) - The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is an important legal framework for the trade union to build harmonious labour relations and prevent labour dispute. Thus, trade unions at all levels in Bac Giang province have negotiated, signed and supervised implementation of CBAs in enterprises providing more benefits for labourers.

Mass vaccination held for over 22,300 IP workers on February 15 - 16

(BGO) – Responding to the “Urgent Spring Vaccination Campaign” in 2022 launched by the Prime Minister from January 29 to February 28, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Bac Giang province chaired and cooperated with the Management Board of provincial industrial parks (IP) to administer Covid-19 vaccine to more than 22,300 workers and labours working at the IP on February 15 – 16.

Sharing with workers’ burden

(BGO)- Lunar December is the crunch time for workers to work overtime and earn more income. This year, their work has been unstable with decreased wages due to impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Many labourers in the province feel great anxiety when Tet is coming. 

Bac Giang provincial Standing Vice Secretary presents Tet gifts to workers

(BGO) – On January 21, the Trade Union at Bac Giang provincial industrial park joined hands with Newwing Interconnect Technology Bac Giang Company Limited in Van Trung industrial park to organize “2022 Reunion Tet – Peace Spring” programme with the participation of Le Thi Thu Hong, Standing Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee (PPC), Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Council.