The inter-sector association for social insurance debt collection has asked Hà Nội police to help investigate and handle enterprises that owe long-overdue social, health and unemployment insurance debts.— Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The inter-sector association for social insurance debt collection has asked Hà Nội police to help investigate and handle enterprises that owe long-overdue social, health and unemployment insurance debts.

The inter-sector association for social insurance debt collection includes police, State inspectors, tax department, labour union, department of labour, invalids and social affairs, and the city’s social insurance.

According to the inter-sector association, the amount of long-overdue insurance debt in the city is increasing.

However, State agencies are facing difficulties in handling violations related to insurance debt.

“The inter-sector association is proposing the city police consider criminal proceedings for businesses that are in debt,” said Nguyễn Đức Hòa, Director of Hà Nội Social Insurance.

“District-level police will receive a list of enterprises sent by social insurance companies. They will then investigate.”

In case of businesses that have deliberately avoided paying insurance for employees, the inter-sector association proposed police, procuracy and people's courts of the city handle them according to the provisions of the 2015 Penal Code.

The city’s social insurance has asked the labour federation to continue directing grass-roots trade unions to sue businesses that owe insurance to ensure benefits for employees.

Lê Đình Hùng, Vice Chairman of the City Labour Federation, said the target of slashing the social insurance debt ratio to below 2 per cent was not only the responsibility of the insurance sector but also of relevant agencies.

In order to implement the collection of social insurance debt effectively, the inter-sector association should fine enterprises owning large debts to deter other firms.

Lieutenant Colonel Đỗ Anh Ngoc, deputy chief of police investigation team on economic crimes, Long Biên District’s Police Department, said over the first six months of this year, local police collaborated with the district social insurance to check 45 businesses.

Local police and relevant agencies recovered VNĐ3.27 billion of total VNĐ3.93 billion in insurance debt, Ngọc said.

In the first six months of this year, the inter-sector association conducted 2,119 inspections, and recovered VNĐ218 billion (US$9.4 million) of VNĐ397 billion ($17.1 million) owed. It also fined 11 units a total of VNĐ1 billion.

Insurance debt has increased in all provinces and cities in all economic sectors, especially at private, joint stock, partnership and joint venture enterprises. — VNS