Many workers across the country are in dire straits because their businesses owe them money and have been evading social insurance payments for a long time, leading to not having a health insurance card for medical examination and treatment, not being able to enjoy maternity benefits, sick leave, work-related accidents, or even losing the right to receive a pension...
- Enterprises owing social insurance may be subject to criminal prosecution.
- Thua Thien Hue names 400 businesses that owe workers' insurance of more than 150 billion VND
Meanwhile, many businesses continue to operate normally, avoiding responsibility and pushing the burden onto workers. Faced with this alarming situation, authorities need to take more drastic measures to protect the legitimate rights of workers.
Devote a life, receive nothing in return
For over a year, the atmosphere in the small house of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang (Truc Thang commune, Ninh Binh ) has always been gloomy. The woman has a thin figure and her eyes always shine with anxiety because she has gone through a difficult time being both a mother and taking care of the whole family after her husband passed away more than a year ago.
Ms. Sau tried to stay at the company just to be able to pay full social insurance.
Having lost the breadwinner of the family, Ms. Hang has to struggle to raise her three children alone. Her only wish is to have social insurance and maternity benefits to ease her burden of making a living. However, that seemingly obvious thing has become too far away for Ms. Hang at this time.
Ms. Hang used to be a worker from the early days of Viet Phat - Hai Phu Company, address: Hai Xuan commune, Ninh Binh province (formerly Mai Quyen hamlet, Hai Phu commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh ). Before that, Ms. Hang always believed that as long as she worked hard, everything would be enough, at least a health insurance card when she was sick, a maternity allowance when she gave birth. But from December 2022, those seemingly small benefits were also taken away, when the company started to owe social insurance. There was no maternity, the health insurance card was locked, every time she went to the doctor or took her child to the hospital, she had to borrow money to pay.
“Many times, I was tired and sick but I didn’t dare take a day off. With three children at home, if I didn’t go to work, how would I eat? But the more I tried to stay with the company to wait for insurance, the more I couldn’t see it,” Ms. Hang said, then fell silent for a long time.
Ms. Hang’s story is not unique. In Ninh Cuong commune (Ninh Binh province), Ms. Tran Thi Sau is also waiting for something very simple: to have her insurance paid in full. As one of the employees who has been owed social insurance for the longest time at the company, Ms. Sau understands the feeling of longing, hoping and then being disappointed every time the company promises “it will be paid next month”. Some of her colleagues have changed jobs, some have gone back to their hometowns, but only she and a few others are still trying to stay. “My colleagues and I even accepted that the company owed us salaries, just hoping to have our insurance paid in full. The company promised to pay in March, but the promise was still just a promise,” Ms. Sau sadly shared.
In the heart of the bustling city of Hanoi, many female workers who used to work at Igarten Education Development Joint Stock Company (Southeast Tran Duy Hung Urban Area, Yen Hoa Ward) are also in a similar situation. Not receiving maternity benefits, not receiving recruitment commissions as promised, their lives, which were already struggling with rent and childcare costs, are now even more miserable.
Ms. Dang Thi Thu Hien, from Hai Phong, has worked at Igarten for more than 11 years, with a salary of 8 million VND/month. “They owe me maternity pay and performance bonus of nearly 40 million VND. When I found out that the company did not pay social insurance, I had to quit my job. But leaving empty-handed, I never thought of it,” Ms. Hien said.
Recently, on April 16, the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Nam coordinated with Minh Hoang 2 Garment Company Limited and related units to organize a dialogue with nearly 200 workers regarding social insurance debt and employee benefits.
Workers of Minh Hoang 2 Garment Company Limited attended the dialogue.
It is known that Minh Hoang II Garment Company Limited (Da Nang city) is late in paying social insurance of nearly 10.3 billion VND.
Ms. Tran Thi H. has worked at the company for nearly 8 years but recently resigned to move to another job. When completing the paperwork, she was shocked to learn that the company owed social insurance and had not yet closed the books. “What I worry about most is that if something happens in the future, my rights will not be protected. I have worked for a long time and now I have to shoulder all the things I should have enjoyed,” Ms. H confided.
Sharing the same fate, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, who has 36 years of service at Nha Trang Shipbuilding Company Limited, is also in a bitter situation. Specifically, Mr. Son retired in 2023 but has not yet closed his social insurance book, because Nha Trang Shipbuilding Company Limited owes him insurance for 5 years and 2 months. Mr. Son said that he only hoped that when he reached retirement age, he would have a pension to live in peace. But now that hope has turned into disappointment, because he even had to pay for a health insurance card himself.
At the same company as Mr. Son, Mr. Nguyen Tang Loi, a younger worker, also found himself in a situation where his benefits were suspended. “Every month, the full amount of insurance is deducted from my salary, but the company does not pay. Now I can’t apply for unemployment insurance because the book is not closed,” Mr. Loi said helplessly.
On May 28, 2025, Khanh Hoa Provincial Social Insurance announced that it had issued 19 decisions to impose fines on businesses with long-term social insurance debts, with a total fine of up to VND 825 million. Of which, Nha Trang Shipbuilding Company Limited is at the top of the list, owing more than VND 21 billion from 2010 to present.
Among those dry numbers are thousands, tens of thousands of lives stuck. They do not ask for too much, just hope to see their years of hard work recognized with basic benefits. A health insurance card, a maternity regime, a pension when they retire. What they need are not promises, and certainly not silence. Because behind the huge numbers of insurance debt are real lives, real stories, and if not saved in time, many more Ms. Hang, Ms. Sau, Ms. Hien… will be left empty-handed after a lifetime of dedication.
Alarming numbers and legal loopholes that need to be closed
More than VND22,000 billion in insurance debt is hanging over the shoulders of workers, according to the latest announcement of Vietnam Social Security. This figure not only reflects the seriousness of the situation of insurance evasion, but also sounds the alarm about the effectiveness of the law in protecting workers' rights.
Many workers fall into misery when businesses owe social insurance.
By the end of April 2025, the total amount of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance debt nationwide had exceeded VND22,300 billion, an increase of 5.6% over the same period last year. Of which, more than 10,000 enterprises had debts lasting from 6 months to many years, directly affecting hundreds of thousands of workers. Notably, many of these enterprises were still operating normally, had revenue, even made a profit, but deliberately did not cooperate with the social insurance agency to correct violations.
In Hanoi alone, nearly 2,000 businesses owe more than VND1,300 billion, some of which have been in debt for 5 to 10 years. This shows that avoiding insurance obligations seems to have become a “habit” of some businesses, while workers are the ones who have to bear the most obvious and direct consequences.
The act of evading or delaying payment of social insurance is not a legal gap. On the contrary, the current legal system has quite complete and strict regulations. Clause 1, Article 214 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017) clearly states: the act of evading payment of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance for employees for 6 months or more can be subject to criminal prosecution, with a prison term of up to 7 years, a fine of up to 1 billion VND or suspension of business operations. Article 122 of the 2014 Law on Social Insurance also allows the social insurance agency to sue businesses in court in case of delay or non-cooperation. In addition, Decree 12/2022/ND-CP clearly stipulates administrative fines of 50 to 75 million VND for violations of social insurance payment.
However, reality shows laxity in law enforcement. In 2024, only four violations were prosecuted nationwide, a very small number compared to the tens of thousands of businesses that owe insurance. The reason, according to Vietnam Social Security, is that transferring files to the investigation agency still faces many difficulties, especially in assessing damage and verifying the subjective will of businesses.
In addition, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has also spoken out to point out: current regulations allow for lawsuits, but the lawsuit process is lengthy, costly, and the final results of civil judgment enforcement are mostly very low. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs admitted that the specialized inspection force is too thin, while the number of enterprises that need to be inspected is too large, causing a situation of "overcrowding".
In that context, many businesses have taken advantage of legal loopholes to evade their obligations. Some companies deliberately sign labor contracts of less than 3 months, which do not require social insurance contributions, or pay salaries in cash to avoid declaring actual income. Many businesses do not declare their list of employees to the social insurance agency to avoid all responsibility. These are common tricks, but have existed for many years without being properly handled.
Workers, especially women, older workers, or single parents, are the most disadvantaged group. They not only lose their maternity benefits, sick leave, and health insurance benefits, but even their pensions are in limbo.
In addition to strict handling, it is also necessary to close loopholes that are being exploited. One of the notable proposals is to amend the Social Insurance Law to require all labor contracts of 1 month or more to participate in social insurance, regardless of type. At the same time, it is necessary to supplement regulations on the personal responsibility of business leaders for social insurance debt, to avoid the situation where businesses "default" and then go bankrupt, while workers lose everything without anyone taking responsibility.
The requirement for transparency is also emphasized. In the coming time, Vietnam Social Security will continue to publicize the list of enterprises that owe social insurance on the electronic information portal and mass media. This not only creates public pressure but also helps employees clearly understand the status of the enterprise they are working for, thereby making appropriate decisions. Along with that, the application of technology, specifically allowing employees to look up social insurance codes and payment history on the VssID application, is considered an effective tool to increase initiative and transparency.
Another key point that needs to be legislated is the increased authority of trade unions and labor inspectors. These organizations need to be allowed to apply emergency measures such as freezing corporate accounts and prohibiting company leaders from leaving the country in cases of serious social insurance debts. Workers cannot be left alone again, facing irresponsibility from the very place where they have devoted their youth.
Social insurance is not a “preferential” but a legitimate right, clearly stipulated by law. Without strong, drastic and substantial actions from the authorities, the vicious cycle of “debt - procrastination - ignorance” will continue, leaving long-term consequences not only for workers but also for the national social security system.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/lao-dao-khi-doanh-nghiep-no-bao-hiem-che-do-5052554.html
Comment (0)