LABOR CODE REGULATIONS CONTAIN CONFUSING RULES ON SALARY, WORK PERMITS

“Previously, we were told to calculate the overtime wage by multiplying the normal wage by 130 percent. But the 2012 labor code says the overtime wage is 30 percent higher than the normal wage,” he said.

A Hanoi-based company, after consulting with a state management agency, was told that if employees work overtime on ordinary days, they will receive wages equal to 200 percent of the normal wage.

The figure would be 250 percent if they work overtime on weekend and 450 percent if they work overtime on holidays.

Meanwhile, according to a representative of a business in Binh Duong province, the local watchdog agency said there are three ways of calculating wages for employees who work overtime on holidays and national days off, which ends up giving three different results.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), in a dispatch to Groz-Beckert Vietnam Company, said the overtime wage on holidays is equal to 390 percent of the normal wage.

Nguyen Thi Dan, chief representative of MOLISA’s southern office, admitted that there were still many unanswered questions about the way to calculate overtime wages.

“It is unclear whether workers will still have days off to make up for the overtime they have done, though they have received overtime wages,” she said.

Teachers seen as “specialists”

Lawyer Nguyen Tien Tai said it is difficult to apply for work permits for foreign teachers.

Tai said under the new regulations, foreign teachers are considered “specialists”, i.e., high-ranking workers. Therefore, employers and foreign teachers have to meet many requirements to apply for work permits.

They must have bachelor’s degrees and have at least five years of experience in their trained fields.

Tai noted that the regulation has placed major difficulties on education establishments, and employers. It is nearly impossible to obtain certificates on foreign workers’ experience if they have worked in many different countries

An analyst said that recruiting teachers with at least five years of experience was “too demanding”.

“Education establishments need to be very financially powerful to be able to recruit experienced teachers,” he noted.

MOLISA, which has received many complaints from schools about the new regulations, has decided that foreign workers only have to satisfy one of the two requirements (having bachelor’s degree or having five years of experience) instead of having both.

Source: VNEP