2019 in Review: Notable labour and social affairs events

* Parliament adopted revised labour code

The National Assembly passed sweeping revisions to the labour code, which will come into force on January 1, 2021. Under the new legislation, the retirement age will increase to 62 for men and 60 for women. Workers will also have one additional public holiday, either before or after the National Day on September 2.

* Vietnam ratifies ILO Convention 98

The National Assembly adopted a resolution on Vietnam joining the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining. The move affirms Vietnam’s determination and efforts in the implementation of relevant commitments in the CPTPP and fulfilment of its duties as an ILO member. The adoption of Convention 98 also facilitates the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement.

* Severely wounded veterans honoured

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, in coordination with several other agencies, held a conference in July to honour 500 severely wounded veterans, representing 1.2 million wounded veterans across the country, as part of various activities to mark Vietnam’s Remembrance Day.

* Breakthrough in voluntary social insurance coverage

In 2019, there were an additional 281,000 people voluntarily registering for social insurance, raising the total number of people covered by social insurance on a voluntary basis to 551,000, surpassing the target set in the Party Central Committee’s resolution two years ahead of schedule.

* National forum on enhancing Vietnamese workers’ skills

The government held a conference on enhancing the skills of Vietnamese workers in November, affirming a vision and aspiration to prepare an army of highly skilled workers, helping to enhance economic competitiveness and to meet the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution and international integration.

* Guest workers reach new record

In 2019 Vietnam sent 148,000 people to work abroad, raising the total number of Vietnamese guest workers to a record high of more than 550,000. Japan currently hosts the largest number of Vietnamese workers, followed by Taiwan (China) and the Republic of Korea.

* Poverty rate drops to below 4%

In 2019 the national rate of poor households under a multi-dimensional approach fell by 1.3 percentage points from a year ago to less than 4%, thanks to a wide range of poverty reduction programmes. Meanwhile, in poor districts the rate dropped by nearly 5 percentage points to below 29%.

* Jobs created for more than 1.6 million workers

In 2019 Vietnam created jobs for an estimated 1.635 million people, surpassing the full-year target by 3.2%. The number of jobs created at home reached about 1.508 million. The urban unemployment rate was 3.12%.