HCMC – The National Assembly’s Standing Committee has passed a resolution to raise the cap on overtime from 40 to 60 hours per month and from 200 to 300 hours per year.
The resolution will take effect from April 1 to the end of the year, except for the annual overtime cap regulation, which will be valid immediately, the local media reported.
The new regulation will not be applied to laborers aged below 18; the disabled with a working capability reduction of at least 51%; those doing hard, hazardous and dangerous jobs; pregnant female workers from the seventh month and the sixth month if they work in remote, mountainous, border and island areas; and female laborers nurturing children aged below 12 months.
Before the NA’s Standing Committee approved the resolution, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung had proposed raising the monthly overtime cap from 40 to no more than 72 hours. This came as many enterprises had negotiated with laborers to increase their overtime, which often failed to benefit the laborers.
Pham Tan Cong, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, suggested increasing the cap to 72 hours due to the high number of Covid-infected workers. Enterprises must increase shifts to complete orders.
The proposal was aimed at responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic recovery and development, Cong added.
However, members of the NA’s Assembly Committee disagreed with the proposal. NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said he received no proposal on the overtime cap hike of associations and enterprises, adding that many workers were suffering from long Covid-19.
NA Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong also affirmed the country’s target to increase salaries and reduce working hours. Enterprises seeking to increase productivity must improve their technology.
