Society

According to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, since the 2022 Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, there have been 28 labor disputes and strikes in Vietnam, mainly revolving around requirements to increase salaries and benefits. Labor unions will coordinate with the management boards of industrial parks, export processing zones, and economic zones to review businesses at risk of bankruptcy or dissolution, to identify plans for support and to minimize disputes.

The labor market became unstable and unemployment increased during the two years of the Covid-19 outbreak. This year, however, with flexible adaptation in pandemic prevention and control measures, many industries will need to recruit large numbers of workers, especially trained workers.

Adjustments will be made from February to policies that directly affect workers’ rights, including adjustments to salary and monthly income for which social insurance has been paid, changes in the ceiling fee for labor export services, and increases to the maximum overtime for seasonal workers.

The “From the Mountains to the Sea - Beat Plastic Pollution” campaign was officially launched on January 24 under a cooperative arrangement between the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI). The campaign calls for action to recycle, reuse, and reduce single-use plastics in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed an Official Letter on speeding up vaccinations and stepping up the implementation of Covid-19 prevention measures, asking the Ministry of Health to ensure sufficient vaccines and drugs are available and to continue to learn from international experience and consult with experts.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Mr. Takeshi Kasai, Vietnam has contributed to supporting countries in regard to pandemic prevention and control and has made active contributions to WHO and the COVAX mechanism. Thanks to the success of its vaccine strategy, it has become among the six leading countries in vaccine coverage in the world. At the moment, 99.98 per cent of its population aged 18 years and over has received at least one dose of vaccine, while 93.6 per cent has had the full basic dose and 11.5 per cent has had the booster dose.