The Social Insurance Conundrum
And the precarity of factory workers
Hello! Welcome to all new readers. This is the latest edition of the Vietnam Weekly, written by reporter Mike Tatarski. Today’s issue is exclusively for paying subscribers - for US$5/month or US$50/year, you can upgrade to a paid subscription to receive all future editions like this (published three times per month) and access the full newsletter archive dating back to 2018.
The Friday editions of the Vietnam Weekly, meanwhile, are always free to read.
On to the news.
I’ve wanted to tackle Vietnam’s social insurance dilemma and the proposed amended law on this issue for a while. It’s a meaty, important subject, one that admittedly is not my area of expertise.
Spotlighting labor-related challenges is particularly timely amid ongoing glowing headlines about Vietnam’s FDI appeal and potential to draw new investors in fields like semiconductors.
Today’s issue covers:
The ongoing trend of factory workers withdrawing their social insurance premiums in a lump sum way before retirement age.
Government proposals to slow or halt this movement and the reaction from workers that could lead to a vicious cycle.
A prominent recent strike in Nghệ An which highlighted the potential volatility of the ever-growing manufacturing sector.