Workers grasp legitimate rights
With the support of the Union, a worker who had a work accident has just been sentenced by the People's Court of Region 12 - Ho Chi Minh City, forcing the enterprise to pay the legitimate benefits that this person should have enjoyed after a work accident.
Previously, on August 18, 2022, while working at the Pomina 2 Steel Joint Stock Company (abbreviated as Pomina 2 Company), Mr. Ho Thanh Thinh (born in 1995) had a hot steel bar cutting through his left knee, completely severing the thigh nerve, the muscles behind the thighs... the disability rate was assessed at 46%. The incident was determined to be a work accident.
Pomina 2 Company paid all treatment costs during Mr. Thinh's hospitalization, paid monthly salary until Mr. Thinh returned to work (around May 2023) and supported him with more than 5.7 million VND. However, when Mr. Thinh asked the company to pay some additional costs including: Medical costs, physical therapy costs, etc., the company did not agree.
Responding to the Trial Council in the trial, Mr. Thinh said that in addition to the treatment costs paid by the enterprise, he had to bear the subsequent treatment costs for a total of VND 15.8 million. However, despite paying all invoices and documents, the company did not pay these expenses.
"Thanks to the support of the Trade Union organization, I learned that in addition to this cost, there are other costs that are in the rights of employees, such as physical treatment and therapy, compensation for damage caused by work-related accidents... Therefore, I asked the Trade Union to support the protection of rights, then filed a lawsuit against the enterprise", Mr. Thinh said.
At the trial, Mr. Thinh requested compensation for many costs including: 15.8 million VND for medical expenses; 9 million VND for physical therapy for 1.5 months; 12 million VND for the cost of hiring a caregiver for 2 months due to not being able to walk and living alone; Compensation for 159 million VND for occupational accident benefits corresponding to a salary of 10 million VND/month and interest according to regulations.
The union protects at the trial, workers receive an additional 200 million VND
During the debate at the trial, the business representative only agreed with the amount of medical expenses and physical therapy expenses; did not agree with other requests of the workers. The company believes that during the time Mr. Thinh is not working, he is still paid a full salary of more than 76 million VND and has an additional amount of more than 5.7 million VND...
Assigned to accompany and protect Mr. Thinh's legitimate rights at the trial, Mr. Nguyen Trung Ngan (Department of Legal Policy and Labor Relations of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation) stated that paying salaries to people who have suffered work-related accidents during treatment and labor rehabilitation is the responsibility of the enterprise. As well as citing relevant legal regulations, the legal basis is the basis for workers' requests to demand payment from businesses.
Expressing his opinion at the trial, the representative of the Procuracy agreed with most of the workers' requests, except for the cost of hiring caregivers, because there was no valid documents; agreed to deduct more than 5.7 million VND that the enterprise had previously paid in excess to Mr. Thinh.
Based on the dispute and developments at the trial, the Trial Council ordered the enterprise to compensate Mr. Ho Thanh Thinh for work-related accidents in accordance with regulations. Because the enterprise violated the payment time, it was necessary to accept the request for employees to calculate interest corresponding to 6%/year in 2023; not to consider the enterprise's request to propose calculating the salary paid into support money.
Of which, the enterprise must pay employees VND 15.8 million for medical expenses; VND 9 million for physical therapy expenses; more than VND 153.25 million for compensation for work-related accidents (deductible VND 5.7 million). Along with the interest, the enterprise must pay the employees a total of nearly 200 million VND.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Ngan said that he has accompanied and protected Mr. Ho Thanh Thinh's rights since the early stages of the dispute, supporting workers to work with businesses and authorities. Because the enterprise did not comply, it had to file a lawsuit in court. Up to now, the court's ruling has ensured the legitimate rights of workers.
In the coming time, if workers need support, the Trade Union will continue to accompany to ensure the rights of workers during the execution of the judgment, said Mr. Nguyen Trung Ngan.
