Confirming salary debt, but no payment date yet
According to readers' letters sent to Lao Dong Newspaper, for nearly 4 years, 21 workers (NLĐ) who are doctors, nurses, and technicians who used to work at the General Hospital under Quang Nam Medical College (now Da Nang Medical College), abbreviated as the Hospital - have fallen into hardship due to prolonged salary arrears. The total amount of debt amounted to more than 830 million VND, arising from April 2022 to mid-January 2023, has not been paid to date.
The hospital used to be the workplace of dozens of medical staff. However, due to financial difficulties and serious violations in management, the hospital fell into crisis, prolonged wage arrears to employees.
On January 15, 2023, the Hospital suddenly issued a decision to terminate contracts with 21 employees and close down. "We not only lost our jobs, but also did not receive any salary in the previous 9 months of working" - Mr. Phan Tan Tien - former lecturer cum staff of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy - angrily said.
According to Mr. Tien, many employees have filed lawsuits in court to claim legitimate rights. Although the managing unit confirmed the debts, the lawsuit still fell into a deadlock because the employer (which is the hospital) has dissolved. "We are like falling into a legal void, not knowing where to cling to" - Mr. Tien said.
Not only losing their jobs, many workers also fall into particularly difficult circumstances. Ms. Nhan (character name changed according to request) - a nurse who used to work at the hospital - choked up and said: "I tried to work even though I didn't have a salary, just hoping to be eligible for maternity benefits. But close to the due date, I discovered that the hospital didn't pay insurance. I had to borrow more than 8 million VND to give birth.
After giving birth, Ms. Nhan has had no income for many months, and her young child is lacking in everything. "Nearly 4 years have passed, we are still waiting for each penny of salary to cover our minimum living expenses. Tet is approaching but the worry is still intact" - she said.
Leaving the place we have been attached to for decades, we struggled to find new jobs. Up to now, no worker has received the debited salary" - Mr. Phan Tan Tien added.
Hospital re-operation plan still... hanging
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Bui Long An - Principal of Da Nang Medical College - confirmed the salary debt to employees and said that the school is developing a plan to put the hospital back into operation, thereby creating revenue to repay the debt.
According to Mr. An, although violations occurred in the previous term, the current leadership does not evade responsibility. "Resolving salary debts is the political and ethical responsibility of the school," he said.
The school said that it has stabilized the apparatus and consolidated management after a period of crisis when many former leaders were prosecuted. The general hospital, although temporarily suspended from operation since January 2023, still has a license and is being developed a re-operation plan with strict financial and human resource requirements.
We will invite drug supply units and employees who have been owed salaries to work, and agree on a roadmap for repaying debts from hospital revenue when operations resume" - Mr. An committed. However, after more than half a year, this plan has not been implemented, making the time to pay salaries to employees continue to be unclear.
Notably, in addition to owing salaries to employees, the hospital also owes more than 9 billion VND in materials from 104 drug supply enterprises - a consequence of a long-term chain of financial management violations.
Nearly 4 years have passed, the legitimate rights of workers are still "suspended", while managing agencies are struggling to find solutions. This delay and confusion has turned workers - who did not cause violations - into victims of a period of weak management.
Lunar New Year is approaching. For many doctors and nurses who once wore white blouse to save people, the biggest wish at this time is not a promise, but a specific and transparent debt repayment roadmap, so that they can close the long wait for justice.
