Workers suffer because their social insurance books are "suspended"
According to data published by the Social Insurance of Region 22 (in charge of Quang Nam and Da Nang), by the end of May 2025, the whole region had 511 units and enterprises that were late in paying social insurance and health insurance (HI) with a total amount of more than 150 billion VND. Of which, Da Nang City has 332 enterprises that are late in paying more than 91 billion VND, while Quang Nam province has 179 enterprises that owe more than 59 billion VND. It is estimated that more than 20,000 workers will be affected by the benefits of prolonged social insurance debts.
Notably, many businesses have persistent social insurance debts of huge sums of money. Typically: Minh Hoang II Garment Company Limited (Dien Ban town) is late in paying nearly 10.3 billion VND; ROYAL CAPITAL Group Joint Stock Company (Hoi An city) owes more than 8.6 billion VND; Wafaifo Quang Nam Hotel Joint Stock Company (Hoi An city) owes more than 2.9 billion VND; Dat Quang Joint Stock Company (Dai Loc district) owes more than 1.9 billion VND; Hong Tri Viet Construction Joint Stock Company (Thanh Khe district, Da Nang city) owes nearly 990 million VND.
Ms. Tran Thi H - a garment worker at Minh Hoang II Garment Company Limited - said: "I have worked here for nearly 8 years. For the past few months, the company has paid late. Recently, I quit my job to work elsewhere and discovered that the company owed me social insurance, I was very worried about my future benefits.
Not only affecting the benefits of quitting their jobs, social insurance debts also prevent many workers from enjoying sick leave, maternity benefits, work-related accidents, etc. Some workers said that they have been refused health insurance payment at the hospital due to the delay in payment by businesses.
Authorities get involved but it is still difficult to handle it completely
The representative of Social Insurance Region 22 said: "We have applied many measures such as sending debt reminder notices, inspections, and administrative sanctions, and even transferred the files of some enterprises to the police for consideration of criminal proceedings under Article 216 of the Penal Code. However, the situation of outstanding loans is still increasing due to many businesses facing financial difficulties or deliberately delaying.
Some businesses justify that due to the impact of the pandemic, orders have decreased, and cash flow has broken down, so they are unable to pay. However, according to labor experts, financial difficulties cannot deprive workers of their legitimate social security rights.
Mr. Phan Xuan Quang - Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial Labor Federation - said that the prolonged situation of social insurance debt has seriously affected many union members' policies. The Social Insurance Agency has proposed strengthening enforcement measures such as blocking accounts, recovering assets, not allowing participation in bidding and handling crimes if necessary to ensure the rights of employees...
According to Mr. Quang, in many cases, local trade unions have had to provide emergency support to workers with unpaid wages and social insurance. However, this is only a temporary solution, it cannot replace ensuring full implementation of the enterprise's obligations to employees.
