Housing for workers was one of ten key concerns raised in a dialogue between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and workers nationwide on June 12, and stakeholders have offered their thoughts on the issue and suggested possible solutions.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh has said that, in the 2016-2021 period, Vietnam invested in 7.3 million sq m of social housing, of which housing for workers totaled 2.7 million sq m in 122 projects. However, due to many obstacles, especially in terms of institutions and mechanisms and policies, only about 40 per cent of the housing needs of workers has been met to date.

According to Deputy Minister Sinh, housing demand among workers is significant, especially as the pace of socio-economic development at industrial parks is increasing. The government has been working on solutions to certain issues businesses and workers are facing.

However, according to Mr. Duong Van Thai, Secretary of the Bac Giang Provincial Party Committee, the most troublesome issue facing businesses today is Decree No. 100, which regulates leasing and sub-leasing, with tenants needing contracts with workers.

“If an enterprise has 10 hectares and is dealing with about 20,000 workers, signing a contract with each worker would mean 20,000 contracts,” he said. “And a workforce is not stable. People can change jobs after six months or a year, so the contract issue is problematic.”

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khang, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, acknowledged that the issue of worker housing has been a concern for some time but there have always been issues surrounding implementation.

Firstly, due to regulations on allocating clean land for social housing, bidding prices are connected to the Land Law. Secondly, there is a clash with the Law on Housing. Thirdly, it is difficult to attract businesses to invest in social housing and worker housing, so it is necessary for all levels of government to be involved, which will bring in the Law on Public Investment.