Miserable because of working without pay
Mr. Le Dinh Quynh - a driver at Mai Linh Nha Trang Company Limited (referred to as Mai Linh Company), said: “I have been a driver for Mai Linh Company for nearly 20 years and have participated in social insurance for 30 years. From August 2024 until now, the company has owed me more than 21 million VND in salary. Not only did the company owe me salary, but it also delayed paying social insurance for many months, even though my social insurance money was deducted every month. Currently, I am facing many difficulties, having to borrow money to pay for medical treatment. Many times I went to the company to request payment of salary but was refused, and the accounting staff even challenged me and said harsh words. Tet is coming, I am worried about what to do to take care of my family. I asked the company to pay my salary and close my social insurance to find another way to live.”
In a shabby attic, Nguyen Hoang Lam (name has been changed) is distraught because he has had little work for the past 2 months, while his rent of more than 1.5 million VND has forced him to ask the landlord for a deferment because he has not received his salary for 4 months. Difficulties pile up because he is renting a house, owes his salary, and is late in paying social insurance, so Lam cannot quit even if he wants to.
After many years of driving, Mr. Le Van Toan was forced to take a month off because Mai Linh Company owed him a long-term debt of salary and social insurance. Mr. Toan said: “The company owes me 31 million VND in salary from July 2024 until now. Every month, the company has collected an average of 1.4 million VND in social insurance from me, but up to now, the company has delayed my social insurance payment by 67 million VND. When I quit my job, I could not close my social insurance book because the company was late in paying, so I was not entitled to unemployment insurance. I myself am facing many difficulties, I also encourage my fellow drivers to comply with the law, share the difficulties, but the company keeps owing me a long time without any specific commitment to pay us, while Tet is coming soon…”.
Why does Mai Linh Nha Trang owe employees salaries and social insurance for a long time?
Frustrated by the situation of Mai Linh Nha Trang Company Limited owing salaries and social insurance for a long time, since September 2024, union members and employees have sent petitions to the authorities three times. Recently, the Khanh Hoa Provincial Labor Federation, the Department of Transport, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the provincial Social Insurance, and the provincial Police organized a dialogue between the collective of employees and the company's leaders.
According to statistics, this company owes from 1 to 11 months of salary to more than 100 employees with the amount of 2 billion VND, and owes 6 billion VND in social insurance contributions from employees from 2020 to present. Of which, the debt of the old legal entity is more than 5.5 billion VND, the debt of the new legal entity is nearly 500 million VND.
According to Mr. Pham Xuan Hai - Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Provincial Social Insurance, in the case of Mai Linh Company, the Social Insurance has flexibly resolved cases of resignation and prioritized payment for employees who have resigned and closed their books. Regarding the legal entity, which was formerly the Branch of Mai Linh Taxi Joint Stock Company and then renamed Mai Linh Company Limited (from May 2023), the total debt is nearly 6 billion VND. For the old legal entity, the period for employees to enjoy unemployment insurance has expired, which is very disadvantageous for employees. For the new legal entity, the Social Insurance is prioritizing health insurance payment. The provincial Social Insurance agency has imposed a fine of 150 million VND twice, but this enterprise has not paid. Mr. Hai said that in order to completely resolve this situation, it is recommended that relevant units advise the Provincial People's Committee to invite the leaders of Mai Linh Group (at the headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City) to work to find a specific solution or resolve it in court.
Mr. Tran Nhat Anh - Director of Mai Linh Company confirmed that the company owes nearly 2 billion VND in salary to employees and nearly 6 billion VND in social insurance. Currently, there are some employees who have quit before, the company is handling the matter in the order of who quits first, and who is finalized first. Regarding salary, money, deposit, car money, and car papers, the company will handle the deposit first, then salary, car money, and car papers.
Meanwhile, Ms. Tran Thi Dung - Chief Accountant of Mai Linh Nha Trang Company Limited explained that due to many difficulties in operation, the company did not want to have to pay salaries and social insurance to employees. In the past, the company had managed to balance financial resources and divided them into small amounts to gradually pay off debts to employees.
At the dialogue, representatives of the Transport Industry Trade Union of Khanh Hoa province and leaders of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Federation of Labor requested the company to have a specific plan for closing social insurance books and salaries for employees. "The wishes of employees are legitimate and legitimate; Employees also sympathize with the difficult situation of the enterprise, but the company's leaders need to have specific solutions to ensure the rights of employees", Ms. Tran Thi Huong - Vice President of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Federation of Labor emphasized.
After the dialogue, the parties agreed that the company would work with Mai Linh Group and report on the roadmap for resolving social insurance debts under the old legal entity before January 15 to the relevant units. At the same time, finalize social insurance payments under the new legal entity before January 24. The company committed to paying at least 50% of salaries before January 24 and paying the remaining 50% before March 30 to all employees.
