Coping with Precariousness: How Social Insurance Law Shapes Workers' Survival Strategies in Vietnam

Abstract

This article examines the role of social insurance law in the survival strategies of factory workers in Vietnam, especially when they are faced with pressing family needs and an uncertain future. Despite the official discourse of the law which encourages employees to accumulate social insurance for their pension benefits, workers in this study have considered their social insurance fund as a form of saving and opted to gain early access to it when they are in desperate need of money. Workers understand and use the law in a way that answers to their needs; however, such action simultaneously puts them outside the protection of the law. In workers' daily struggles, law generates a moral tension between rights and needs, and ultimately perpetuates their precarious, vulnerable condition. The article demonstrates how workers' legal consciousness varies according to their perception of their precariousness, a precariousness generated by the fragile nature of their work and underpinned by their traditional familial moral obligations. This research advances our understanding of the way state law in postsocialist regimes informs social action and consciousness in ways that oftentimes contradict the spirit of the law.

Regulatory pluralism and the resolution of collective labour disputes in Southeast Asia

“…However, empirical studies of collective labour disputes in the region show that not only are collective labour disputes often resolved outside formal channels but also that ‘non-state’ norms exert an important influence. In Vietnam, for example, scholars have argued that, in response to public expectations that they act in accordance with values of empathy and compassion (tinh cam) , Vietnamese officials at the provincial and district levels apply the law flexibly and respond to collective labour disputes in ways not anticipated by the formal collective labour dispute resolution system (Nguyen, 2021). Nguyen has shown how, in the case of a dispute at Texwell Vina in Đồng Nai Province, state authorities responded to demands by workers on their employer for unpaid bonuses, wages and superannuation benefits by providing gifts and financial aid, as well as assistance with new job opportunities (Nguyen, 2021).…”

“…Yet it is widely observed in IR and labour law scholarship that these systems have only had limited effectiveness (Cooney et al, 2002; Do, 2018; Ford and Gillan, 2016: 168). There is also a small but rich literature from a range of disciplines suggesting that rather than proceeding through statutory channels, in these countries collective labour disputes are often resolved by actors, institutions and processes, and according to norms, that lie outside the formal IR system (e.g., Nguyen, 2021; Lestari and Wijayanti, 2020). To date, these two sets of observations and bodies of literature have tended to run on parallel tracks.…”

The cycle of commodification: migrant labour, welfare, and the market in global China and Vietnam

“…In the case of pension, the respective contributions of employers and employees are capped at 14% and 8% (Table 1 ). The coverage of the Viet Nam Health Insurance, established in 1995, has expanded from only 16% in 2002 with both compulsory and voluntary schemes to more than 80% of the Vietnamese population by 2018 (Evans et al, 2008 ; Nguyen, 2020a , b ). Given the fast increase in coverage, both countries have moved themselves from the bottom in terms of equity in health care—the World Health Report 2000 ranked Vietnam at 187th place and China at 188th out of 190 countries (Ramesh, 2013 )—to an improved overall performance in late 2010s (WHO, 2018 ).…”

“…Otherwise, they can only receive their pension benefits as a lump sum. Migrant workers often consider their social insurance fund as a form of private saving and opt to gain early access as a lump sum (Nguyen, 2020b ), foregoing the long-term benefits of the scheme. For the same level of benefits, migrant workers in voluntary schemes must contribute almost 100% by themselves, whereas urban workers with formal contract co-contribute with the employers.…”

“…As of 2015, only about 255,000 workers, or 0.8% of the total labour force, participated in the voluntary social insurance schemes (Castel & Pick, 2018 ). The low participation can also be partly attributed to migrant workers’ having not much faith in contributory government-run schemes (Nguyen, 2020b ), similar to China.…”