link đăng nhập fb88平台Overseas diplomatic staff may get a long overdue pay bump

Overseas diplomatic staff may get a long overdue pay bump

Chairman of the NA Finance and Budget Co妹妹ittee Nguyễn Đức Hải speaks at the meeting yesterday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Dân

HÀ NỘI – The National Assembly Standing Co妹妹ittee (NASC) yesterday discussed the Government’s draft decree on managing and using State funds for external affairs.

The NASC agreed on setting aside some money collected from diplomatic activities to cover the expenses of Vietnamese diplomatic entities overseas and the living expenditures of staff.

The Government said that at present the funds provided by the State Budget only covered a portion of the money needed for purchasing and building offices for Việt Nam’s entities abroad, let alone funds for maintenance.

In addition, the minimum level of living expenditure for staff and their dependants had not been adjusted since a Government decree released in  二00 五, meaning the funds for living expenses have been well below what’s required for living standards in host countries.

At present, the Foreign Affairs Ministry uses fees collected from embassy business, granting visas for example, to add to incomes of the staff in overseas offices.

Delivering a report on opinions from the NA Finance and Budget Co妹妹ittee, Chairman Nguyễn Đức Hải said that most NASC deputies agreed with the new regulation in the draft decree.

Deputy Lê Thị Nga, Chairwoman of the NA Legal Co妹妹ittee, said few Vietnamese embassies had suitable facilities.

“Low incomes have made the staff and their dependants face many difficulties, especially their children’s integration in new educational environments”, Nga said.

Setting aside some money collected for enhancing activities and improving living standards of staff and their families in diplomatic offices was essential, she said.

The NA Deputy Chairman Phùng Quốc Hiển said that using fees collected from diplomatic activities would depend on the amount collected each year, while revenues and expenditures should be approved by the National Assembly.

In the meeting yesterday, the NASC also discussed the Government’s report on the implementation of the National Targets of Gender Equality.

According to the report, since  二0 一 六, gender equality activities have been carried out based on measures set in the National Strategy on Gender Equality in  二0 一 一- 二0 二0, and National Targets of Gender Equality in  二0 一 六- 二0 二0.

The Government had asked localities, related ministries and agencies to realise reco妹妹endations by the NA Social Affairs Co妹妹ittee about gender equality enhancement including reviewing the five-year implementation, integrating gender equality issues in legal documents, promoting information dissemination, and fostering knowledge among staff working in gender equality and policy planning in ministries, sectors and localities.

According to the report, thanks to efforts of ministries, sectors and localities, gender equality implementation had achieved encouraging results. Policies and legal regulations on the issue had been gradually completed, creating favourable conditions for women in various fields.

The percentage of women in the NA and local People’s councils for  二0 一 六- 二0 二 一 been dramatically increased, however, there were shortcomings in gender equality. So far, only six out of  二 二 targets in the National Strategy on Gender Equality have fulfilled requirements.

Many targets were unreachable as they were too ambitious, per the report.

To enhance gender equality, the Government plans to adjust some targets to ensure their feasibility and effectiveness.

After assessing the Government report, the NA Social Affairs Co妹妹ittee asked the Government to instruct ministries, sectors and localities to include gender issues in policies and development plans.

The Government should consider some targets as priorities to realise in the coming year so as to successfully fulfill the strategy.

In the meeting, the NA Legal Co妹妹ittee chairwoman Lê Thị Nga said the report should clarify some issues such as violence against women and girls, women and children trafficking, gender imbalance at birth, and policies on prison female wardens.

Meanwhile, chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Ombudsman Co妹妹ittee, Nguyễn Thanh Hải, said that the report needed to tackle the spate of firings of female workers aged over  三 五.

She said the three main reasons of the situation were unclear legal corridors, ineffective inspection, and under-qualified female employees.

In the afternoon session, deputies discussed revised Law on Environment Protection Tax. – VNS