Freelancers and the Burden of Work Accidents
Mr. Nguyen Van Cong (born in 1982, residing in Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa) works as a scuba diver. Last June, while diving for seafood in the sea near Hon Chong, he unfortunately had an occupational accident that left one leg paralyzed and he is currently undergoing daily physical therapy.
Mr. Cong shared, “As a fisherman working at sea like me, only Health Insurance (BHTY) can help me save money when I am sick. I am the main breadwinner in my family, and now I have to stay in hospital for a long time, which will be a burden for my family and I will not be able to return to my old job in the future. Life will be more precarious and difficult.”
Not only Mr. Cong, more than 22,500 fishermen are working on fishing boats in Khanh Hoa, the number of those who receive insurance after occupational accidents (TNLD) can be counted on the fingers. Meanwhile, the number of TNLD cases during the fishing process often accounts for a high percentage.
According to statistics from the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center, in the first 9 months of 2024, 153 fishing boat rescues were carried out, with the leading cause being fishermen having work-related accidents.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, in the first 6 months of 2024, there were 219 occupational accidents involving workers not working under labor contracts, causing 231 workers to be injured. Of these, 75 were fatal (78 deaths), and 100 were seriously injured. Although the number of cases and victims decreased compared to the same period, the number of deaths and serious injuries increased. In particular, the number of seriously injured people increased by 44.93% compared to the same period in 2023.
More protection for informal sector workers
Khanh Hoa currently has nearly 600,000 workers of working age, of which the number of people participating in social insurance (both compulsory and voluntary) is 205,770 people, the social insurance coverage rate compared to the workforce of working age is 36.32%. When hearing information about the occupational accident insurance policy, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong affirmed: "I will advise my family to participate because there is no concept of absolute safety. When an occupational accident occurs, we will see the full value of insurance protection for our lives after the accident."
According to the representative of Khanh Hoa Provincial Social Insurance, Decree No. 143, which regulates voluntary occupational accident insurance for employees working without a labor contract, will take effect from January 1, 2025. The subjects of application are employees aged 15 years and older who work without a labor contract, are not subject to compulsory social insurance for occupational accidents and diseases, and participate in occupational accident and disease insurance. The beneficiary condition is that employees whose working capacity is reduced from 5% to 100% due to an occupational accident during the participation period are entitled to a one-time allowance.
The benefit level for a 5% reduction is 3 times the minimum monthly salary calculated according to region IV as prescribed by the Government and for a further 1% reduction, the benefit level is 0.3 times the minimum monthly salary of region IV. The employee also receives an additional allowance calculated according to the number of years of contribution to the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Relatives of employees who die due to work-related accidents receive a one-time allowance equal to 31.5 times the minimum monthly salary of region IV...
Currently, Khanh Hoa Social Insurance is implementing the payment of unemployment insurance premiums every 6 months or every 12 months. The payment for 6 months is 207,000 VND, for 12 months is 414,000 VND, equivalent to 34,500 VND/month. Currently, the State is supporting 30% of the payment for poor workers, 25% for near-poor workers and 10% for other subjects. This is considered a reasonable payment for many workers working without labor contracts in Khanh Hoa.
According to the representative of Khanh Hoa Social Insurance, in fact, in the past time, in the province, workers working without labor contracts accounted for the majority of the labor force. The establishment of the Unemployment Insurance will add a better social security regime for workers, especially workers in fields with high risks during the working process such as construction, sea labor, technology driving, etc.
