The support package is expected to amount to VND26 trillion (US$1.12 billion), focusing on workers in industrial parks and labour-intensive enterprises, in order to ensure the dual goals of both fighting the pandemic and advancing the economy.
Providing support to people as soon as possible
To implement the support package, three groups of policies have been constructed, the first policy being the provision of cash support to employees whose working contracts have been suspended. The second policy will focus on exemptions and reductions of payments to accident and occupational disease insurance funds, retirement and survivorship funds, and unemployment insurance fund. The third policy is supporting the restoration of production through refinancing enterprises to train and retain workers.
Speaking at a press conference on the announcement of Prime Minister's Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg dated July 7, 2021 on the implementation of a number of policies to support employees and employers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung affirmed that Decision 23 is a “revolution” in terms of procedure.
Never before have we simplified procedures and shortened times so much to ensure that the support packages will be implemented as quickly as possible.
In the previous period, banking loans to pay wages or restore production took a month and 10 days with four different types of dossiers, but now this time has been shortened to seven days with only one type of dossier.
Regarding the suspension of payments to retirement and survivorship funds, the processing time has been reduced to only five days from 25 days, Dung noted.
To quickly implement the above policy, it is necessary to raise the sense of responsibility of the heads of agencies, units and localities.
Immediately after the issuance of Decision No. 23, the Vietnam Social Insurance and the Bank for Social Policies were ready to apply for eligible employees and employers and after the Resolution No. 68 issued, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs guided localities to provide treatment for F0 and quarantine for F1 people and pay the cost of meals for them.
New regulations in insurance policy
Among the 12 support policies, three are related to social and unemployment insurance. Accordingly, employees and employers will enjoy reductions and temporary suspensions in their payments to the two aforementioned funds while receiving support for job training.
Regarding the policy of of reducing accident and occupational disease insurance premiums, employers are entitled to a payment of 0% of the salary fund from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022).
In particular, the entire amount obtained from these reductions will be used for COVID-19 prevention and control at enterprises.
Regarding the policy on the temporary suspension of payments to the retirement and survivorship funds, enterprises who reduce 15% of their employees can suspend the payment for the retirement and survivorship funds, and the time of suspension will be extended to six months instead of the current period of three months.
Related procedures and documents are also being simplified compared to the previous pandemic, from three components to one component in terms of documents and from 25 days to five days.
Employers are also to be supported in training and improving the skills of their employees across a one-year period with maximum financial support of VND1.5 million per person per month.
