Mr. Dao Viet Anh, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Social Insurance, commented on the situation of social insurance debt in the first months of the year. Although the Social Insurance sector has applied many methods to reduce debt and has collected 21,4% of the 2019 plan, the amount of debt still increased in the first months of the year.
As of the end of February 2019, the total amount of outstanding social insurance contributions subject to interest nationwide was VND 6.654 billion, an increase of VND 1.305 billion, or 2,7%, compared to the amount due. Of this amount, the non-state-owned enterprise sector had the largest outstanding debt.
In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone, dozens of businesses owed over 32 billion VND in social insurance contributions in 2019.
1. The above-mentioned social insurance debt is due to the following reasons:
– Production at the units is facing difficulties.
– Some units have not been complying well with regulations regarding social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions.
– The entity has gone bankrupt, been dissolved, disappeared, or the owner has absconded.
– Some individuals even try to evade payment, or misappropriate the workers' contribution money.
In addition, Mr. Anh also stated that relevant agencies are urgently implementing many solutions such as:
– Require officers to closely monitor units and ensure full payment is made.
– Conduct surprise inspections of all units that owe social insurance and health insurance contributions for 3 months or more.
– Inspection reports must be sent to relevant authorities (Police, Courts, Procuratorate, Labor Department, Federations, etc.) as a basis for future criminal proceedings.
– Instruct employees to report violations to the police so that they can be handled according to legal procedures.
– Assign debt reduction targets to each individual responsible for debt management; assess the debt reduction rate monthly and quarterly to evaluate work performance; conduct quarterly reviews, evaluations, and share experiences in debt reduction.
- The process of prosecuting units that evade social insurance contributions still faces some obstacles in practice. The procedure for transferring files to relevant agencies for prosecution is incomplete, and therefore lacks uniformity.
2. Why is recovering social insurance debts so difficult?
In Hanoi;
– LILAMA 3 Joint Stock Company is leading with debts exceeding 32 billion VND.
– Construction Company No. 1 (Hanoi) owes more than 20 billion VND.
– Bridge Construction Joint Stock Company No. 12 (Hanoi) owes nearly 20 billion VND.
– VIT Garment Export Company Limited
– Branch of Xuan Kien VINASUKI Automobile Joint Stock Company – Automobile Manufacturing Plant No. 1 (Me Linh District)
– Construction Machinery Joint Stock Company 121 CIENCO1… has debts ranging from 17 to 19 billion VND.
And in Ho Chi Minh City;
– Nam Phuong Co., Ltd. tops the list with outstanding social insurance debts amounting to nearly 29 billion VND.
– Mai Linh Southern Joint Stock Company owes nearly 28 billion VND.
- Saigon Post and Telecommunications Services Joint Stock Company owes nearly 28 billion VND.
– Vietnam Petroleum Transport Joint Stock Company
– Industrial Construction Joint Stock Company (Descon)
– Vinh Thuy Co., Ltd.; J-TEX VINA Co., Ltd.
– Cho Lon Taxi Company Limited
– Thuong Thang Shoe Manufacturing Joint Stock Company
– Fenix Knitting Company Limited (Vietnam)… has outstanding social insurance debts ranging from over 9 billion to 15 billion VND.
According to Mr. Mai Duc Thang, Deputy Head of the Collection Department of the Vietnam Social Insurance, in the first quarter of 2019, social insurance agencies in 23 provinces and cities transferred the files of 162 businesses owing social insurance contributions to relevant authorities for processing according to the provisions of the Criminal Code. However, despite applying some strict regulations, these businesses continue to procrastinate and "forget" to pay.
On the other hand, the role of grassroots trade union officials in enterprises is weak. Because trade union officials are still salaried employees of the business owner, their ability to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers related to social insurance in those enterprises is not high.
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