Transitional support the key to protect the labour force

9:00-10:30, 16/6/2023 Live- Talk show: New opportunities in the job transition

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), nearly 280,000 workers lost their jobs in just five months, accounting for about 55 per cent of the total number of employees affected. Nearly 195,000 workers have had their working hours reduced, around 17,000 labourers had to take unpaid leave, and more than 8,300 people have their contracts suspended.

“Enterprises suffered from a lack of orders due to difficulties in major export markets, high inflation, and tight monetary policy, which reduced purchasing power – especially in demand for fashion items and personal electronic devices. Many businesses are facing a large inventory of goods that cannot be exported, while there are few new orders,” Dung shared.

To date, more than 8,600 enterprises in Vietnam have been forced to reduce their workforce, of which 27.4 per cent are foreign-invested enterprises, 72.2 per cent are non-state enterprises, and 0.4 per cent are state-owned enterprises. They are mainly operating in textiles, footwear, wood processing, manufacturing, and electronic component assembly.

9:00-10:30, 16/6/2023 - Talk show: New opportunities in the job transition

The report from the MoLISA also indicates that the localities with the largest number of affected workers are the places with the largest concentration of industrial parks and economic zones in the country, including Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, and Hanoi.

According to Navigos Group, the recruitment demand of many occupational groups in the first half of this year decreased by 18-43 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic period, focusing mainly on the industries with the largest recruitment demand such as textiles and footwear, construction and real estate, IT, transport and logistics, administration, and marketing and sales.

The wave of lay-offs is expected to continue until the end of the year due to difficulties stemming from the economy, according to the Private Economic Development Research Board in a new survey. About 5,200 out of nearly 9,600 businesses surveyed said they will still cut more than 5 per cent of their employees before the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, the International Labour Organisation’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2023 Trends Report also confirmed that global employment is forecast to increase by only 1 per cent, down from the 2.3 per cent growth rate of last year. The gloomy employment has posed a problem for management units, led by the MoLISA, to provide timely support policies for workers to soon settle down and help them in transition to more suitable jobs.

The draft revised Law on Employment being developed by the MoLISA has proposed to supplement training policies, improve vocational skills for workers to help them maintain jobs and support unemployed workers to participate in training courses to improve vocational skills.

Pham Vu Quoc Binh, deputy director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, said that it is also promoting international cooperation through signing with many corporations, associations, large enterprises, and agencies of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea to organise training and supply trained workers.

“Vocational training programmes are designed to approach the needs of the market to help learners equip themselves with necessary business skills. The quality of human resources will be improved, able to quickly adapt to the changes of the labour market, and have the opportunity to find better quality jobs, especially in the context that Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for many foreign businesses,” Binh said.

Wishing to contribute more initiatives and solutions to the challenges of the labour market, helping employees access opportunities to change jobs more effectively, Vietnam Investment Review will hold a talk show themed “New Opportunities in the Job Transition.”

The talk show will take place from 9am on June 16 with the participation of representatives of regulatory agencies, advisory firms, and businesses, and will be livestreamed on platforms under the VIR system.

Adhering to the law in termination of labour contracts in Vietnam A guideline issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy in November covered a number of fundamental contents in the supervision of settlement of individual labour disputes including specific guidelines on settlement of disputes of unilateral termination of a labour contract. In addition, an August verdict issued by the Appeal Court of Binh Duong province also covered some noteworthy views of the court in settlement of a lawsuit on unilateral termination of a labour contract. The last piece of this article will address proposed to-do actions.

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