Circular No. 08/2001/TT-BLDTBXH of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of certain provisions in Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 29, 2000 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Public Service Labor Obligation Ordinance.

CIRCULAR

Issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on guiding the implementation of certain provisions in Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 29, 2000 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Ordinance on Compulsory Public Labor Service

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 33 of the Ordinance on Compulsory Public Labor Service 1999; pursuant to Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 29, 2000 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Ordinance on Compulsory Public Labor Service; after exchanging opinions with relevant Ministries and sectors, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guides the implementation of certain provisions of the above Decree as follows:

I. IMPLEMENTATION OF ANNUAL PUBLIC LABOR SERVICE OBLIGATION

1. The responsibility for implementing the annual public labor service obligation as stipulated in Article 1 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP shall be implemented as follows:

a. During the years within the prescribed age range, citizens subject to the annual public labor service obligation have the responsibility to fully perform their obligations.

The annual public labor service obligation shall be performed at the place where the citizen permanently resides and has permanent household registration. If the place of permanent residence has continuous temporary residence registration for six months or more, then the obligation shall be performed at that place of temporary residence.

In case a citizen registers temporary residence in one or more places outside the commune or ward where they are registered with permanent residence during the year, but there is no place with continuous temporary residence registration for six months or more, then the obligation shall be performed at the place of permanent residence registration.

b. Citizens going to perform the annual public labor service obligation within the scope of the commune or ward where they reside shall carry common tools of labor (such as shovels, buckets, baskets...) as required by the mobilization agency. If laboring outside this scope, it shall be resolved by the unit utilizing public labor service.

2. The time spent traveling to and from work as stipulated in Article 2 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP shall be implemented as follows:

a. Time spent traveling to and from work may only be deducted from the number of compulsory labor days in cases where the labor takes place far from the location of the obligation as specified in Point 1, Section I of this Circular, where travel is difficult and daily return is not possible, requiring staying overnight at the workplace.

b. In cases where a person must go for multiple periods to fulfill the obligation in a year due to mobilization agency requirements, the time spent traveling to and from each period shall be deducted accordingly.

c. For cases where time spent traveling to and from work is deductible, transportation costs shall be reimbursed according to the fare of public transport means commonly available on that route. In cases where personal means of transport are used, reimbursement shall be based on the distance traveled and the standard rate applicable to ordinary means of transport.

3. The temporary exemption from the annual public labor service obligation as stipulated in Article 5 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP shall be implemented as follows:

a. At the time of mobilization decision, if a citizen falls under one of the categories specified in Article 5 of the aforementioned Decree, they shall be temporarily exempted; at the time of subsequent mobilization decision, if they no longer fall under such category, they shall be required to fulfill their obligation.

Example 1: Female citizen A is subject to the public labor service obligation in 2001. At the first mobilization point (May 2001), female citizen A suffered a miscarriage and was therefore temporarily exempted. At the second mobilization point (October 2001), female citizen A had completed the leave period due to miscarriage as stipulated in the Social Insurance Regulations issued together with Decision No. 12/CP dated January 26, 1995, and thus must fulfill her public labor service obligation for the year 2001.

In cases where the final mobilization decision in the year still finds the citizen eligible for temporary exemption, the following year will not require repayment of the previous year's obligation.

Example 2: Citizen B is subject to the public labor service obligation in 2001. At the first mobilization point (May 2001), citizen B fell ill and was temporarily exempted. At the second mobilization point (October 2001), citizen B was still ill and remained temporarily exempted. By the end of 2001, there were no further mobilizations, so citizen B did not need to fulfill the 2001 public labor service obligation and would not need to repay it the following year.

b. Citizens undergoing outpatient treatment who are temporarily exempted from the annual public labor service obligation must have a letter from a doctor at a health station, hospital, or medical facility licensed to operate according to regulations of the Ministry of Health.

c. The duration of temporary exemption from the annual public labor service obligation due to pregnancy, miscarriage, fetal death, or infant death after birth shall be applied as the leave period for social insurance benefits for each type as stipulated in the Social Insurance Regulations issued together with Decision No. 12/CP dated January 26, 1995.

d. State civil servants currently working in areas not listed in Clause 7, Article 5 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP, if transferred (including on loan) by competent authorities to work for a limited time in those areas (including moving from one commune to another within a district or from one district to another within a province), shall be temporarily exempted from the annual public labor service obligation during the transfer period.

e. Positions equivalent to Village Chiefs, Ward Chiefs mentioned in Clause 11, Article 5 include: Chief of Hamlet, Chief of Village, Chief of Sóc, Chief of Buôn, Chief of Làng; Head of Khóm, Head of Resident Group, Head of Self-Managed Resident Group.

g. For research students, graduate students, interns, university students, and high school students, only those studying full-time and long-term at universities, academies, colleges, vocational high schools, general secondary schools (regardless of public, semi-public, or private), vocational training centers, and other educational institutions under the national education system; academies or concentrated training institutes of religions shall be eligible for temporary exemption. The temporary exemption regime for these subjects shall be implemented from the date of enrollment until the end of the course, except for high school students who complete grade 12 and continue to be temporarily exempted during the summer break of that academic year. Those studying through non-formal education methods and those learning trades in short-term classes, vocational training centers, and other vocational training facilities do not fall under this temporary exemption regime.

Persons teaching and those learning to eliminate illiteracy must be confirmed by the People's Committee of communes, towns, or wards. For learners, the temporary exemption period shall be implemented from the start of their studies until they have eliminated illiteracy, but not exceeding twenty-four months from the start date, regardless of whether they study in classes or not.

h. Persons on official business, studying, or working abroad: The temporary exemption regime shall be applied during the time spent abroad for official duties, study, or work, including time off to visit family.

4. Citizens who complete their annual public service labor obligation shall be issued a certificate by the People's Committee of the commune according to Model 7 attached hereto.

II. ESTABLISHING ANNUAL PUBLIC SERVICE LABOR DAY FUND USE PLAN

1. Based on specific conditions of the locality and the annual public service labor day fund at each level, the People's Committees at all levels shall establish plans for using the annual public service labor day fund of their respective levels to submit to the People's Councils at the same level for decision.

It is not permitted to mobilize citizens to perform annual public service labor obligations when the plan for using the annual public service labor day fund has not been approved by the People's Council with such a fund.

2. Departments of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to collectively as provincial level); Districts' Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Offices of counties, districts, towns, and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to collectively as district level), and personnel assigned to oversee public service labor at communes, towns, and wards (hereinafter referred to collectively as commune level) shall cooperate with planning and finance agencies and relevant departments to assist the People's Committees at the same level in developing plans for using the annual public service labor day fund.

The annual plan for using the public service labor day fund shall be established according to the forms issued together with this Circular: Form 2a applies to the commune level; Form 2b applies to the district level; Form 2c applies to the provincial level.

3. Funding for organizing and managing the annual public service labor day fund: People's Committees at all levels shall not draw from the public service labor fund in cash, but must include the items listed in Article 8 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP of the Government in the annual budget revenue and expenditure plan of the locality in accordance with the State Budget Law.

III. RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING REGIME

1. Record Keeping

The record form for tracking the implementation of annual public service labor obligations according to Models (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) attached hereto.

The People's Committee of the commune is responsible for directing relevant departments to review and check the lists of subordinate units to avoid errors in identifying individuals subject to obligations, exemptions, and temporary exemptions.

In urgent cases involving public service labor obligations, local authorities at all levels shall establish records according to Form 4.

The entity issuing the mobilization decision shall record it in its own tracking book. For cases where a lower-level entity mobilizes to implement an upper-level decision, additional notes shall be made in the "reason for mobilization" column to prevent duplication when consolidating data.

The training institution is responsible for submitting reports on the results of each course to the Construction Department of the locality where its headquarters is located and where the training takes place for monitoring and management (according to the model in Appendix 11 of this Circular);

a. Annual report on the implementation of annual public service labor obligations according to the forms attached hereto:

- Commune level reports to the district level through the District Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Office, including Forms 1a, 3a, and 5;

- District level reports to the provincial level through the Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, including Forms 1a, 3b, and 5;

- Provincial level reports to the Government through the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, including Forms 1c, 3c, and 5;

b. Report on the results of each mobilization for urgent public service labor obligations according to Form 6 attached hereto.

c. Reporting deadlines:

- Annual report on the results of implementing annual public service labor obligations: As stipulated in Clause 8, Article 5 of Decree No. 81/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 29, 2000 of the Government.

- Report on the results of each mobilization for urgent public service labor obligations: To be submitted to the immediate superior agency within ten days from the end of the mobilization.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

People's Committees at all levels are responsible for organizing and implementing the Public Service Labor Obligation Ordinance and guiding documents; simultaneously promoting and widely disseminating among the people to ensure voluntary compliance and supervision during the implementation process.

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, localities should reflect them to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs for research and resolution.