Notable policies coming into force from the end of January 2019

1. Assistance for participants in Anti-French Resistance War and Vietnam War

Circular No. 170/2018/TT-BQP provides guidelines for Decree No. 102/2018/NĐ-CP on assistance and benefits for overseas Vietnamese people who participated in Vietnam’s resistance wars or are fulfilling international duty.

According to the Circular, overseas Vietnamese people who participated in Vietnam’s resistance war against France or America mentioned in Clause 2 Article 2 of Decree 102 are entitled to the following benefits:

- Seniority not exceeding 2 years: 4.000.000 VND.

- Seniority exceeding 2 year: 1.500.000 VND per year from the third year. To be specific:

 Benefit = 4.000.000 VND + [(seniority - 2 years) x 1.500.000 VND].

- A beneficiary who dies from September 05, 2018 onwards will receive the same benefit as above.

- For beneficiaries who die before September 05, 2018, their families mentioned in Clause 5 Article 2 of Decree 102 will receive 6.000.000 VND.

Circular No. 170/2018/TT-BQP comes into force from January 30, 2019.

2. Health workers’ leave period included in seniority

This is a notable content of Circular No 38/2018/TT-BYT, which provides instructions on commendation in health sector and comes into force from January 21, 2019.

According to the Circular, the leave period of a female health worker is also included in her seniority, which is the basis for considering commendation and rewards.

Besides, the period of treatment and recovery of a person will also be included in his/her seniority if he/she:

- rescued other people or property with bravery;

- was injured in combat and needed treatment as concluded by a district-level medical facility or above.

The Circular also prescribes that a health worker who has been employed for less than 10 months or receives a reprimand or a harsher disciplinary action shall not receive the “Lao động tiên tiến” award.

3. Political subjects made mandatory in colleges

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has promulgated Circular No. 24/2018/TT-BLĐTBXH on political subjects in associate and college programs.

According to the Circular, political subjects are mandatory among common subjects of college programs.

The total duration is 75 hours (theory: 41 hours; discussion: 29 hours; test: 05 hours).

The program includes overview of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology, Communist Party’s revolutionary policies, etc. These contents are expected to contribute to comprehensive development of workers to build and protect the socialist country.

Circular No. 24/2018/TT-BLĐTBXH comes into force from January 21, 2019.

4. Guidance on packing infectious specimens

This is an important content of Circular No. 40/2018/TT-BYT on management of pathology specimens of infectious diseases

According to the Circular, an infectious specimen must be covered in 3 layers:

- The first layer (specimen tube/jar) must be tight; its cap tightened with duct tape, paraffin paper or clamp to avoid leakage. A glass tube must be properly packaged to avoid damage;

- The second layer (box or bag that contains the specimen tube/jar):

+ Watertight and able to hold the first layer upright.

+ There must be soft material between the first and the second layer. If the specimen is a liquid, it is required to use an absorbent material, which will absorb the liquid in case of damage;

- The third layer (outermost layer): made of hard material, minimum dimension of each side is 10 cm.

Circular No. 40/2018/TT-BYT comes into force from January 25, 2019.

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