Directive No. 1005/LDTK on rectifying statistical work

DIRECTIVE

OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOR NUMBER 1005/LDTK ON JUNE 9, 1958
REGARDING THE CORRECTION OF STATISTICAL WORK

Respected: - Directors of Regional Departments of Labor.

- Heads of Provincial Labor Departments.

Reviewing the process of implementing statistical work, we have achieved some results in reporting, specialized surveys, vocational training, etc. These results have had a positive impact on the research work of the sector.

However, alongside these achievements, there are still many shortcomings:

1) The system of statistical reporting has not been strictly adhered to; in some places, reports are not regular, lacking the issued forms; in some places, reports are inconsistent with the general guidelines, with numerous calculation errors.

2) Statistical staff have not been definitively assigned to focus on their specific tasks. In some places, statistical staff have been assigned to perform other duties, with assignments changing frequently, neglecting statistical work. Statistical data have not been thoroughly checked before submission; in some places, there is a heavy emphasis on reporting upwards without utilizing data for analysis and commentary to aid local research efforts; in some places, the sense of responsibility for statistical data is poor, with little attention paid to whether the data is correct or not, failing to recognize the full utility of statistical work.

3) Coordination with bases and sectors has not been tight enough. The exchange of data between labor agencies and sectors has not yet formed a routine.

Given the current situation and based on the increasing scope and complexity of the sector's tasks, the Ministry believes that correcting statistical work is crucial to enhance statistical activities to better serve the sector's tasks. To accomplish this well, the Ministry proposes several tasks below for Regions, Departments, Bureaus, and Offices to implement:

1) Strictly adhere to statistical report formats:

- Report fully and regularly according to the formats issued by the Ministry, without arbitrarily modifying or adding/subtracting columns in the formats, and refrain from issuing new formats (if necessary, seek the Ministry's opinion).

- Adhere to the monthly and quarterly reporting deadlines as specified for each format. The Ministry uniformly stipulates that monthly reports should be submitted to the Ministry no later than the 8th day of the following month, and quarterly reports should be submitted no later than the 15th day of the following month of the reported quarter.

- The framework of the statistical report form should fit within the size of one or two sheets of pelure paper, depending on the number of columns in the format (neither too small nor too large).

- Numbers recorded must be clear, without smudging or erasing, and utmost care must be taken to avoid calculation errors (pay special attention to this point).

- Carefully study the points directed and explained in the formats, including both the content and recording methods, to ensure uniform implementation. Pay attention to building tracking ledgers for each statistical issue to facilitate quick compilation of reports.

2) Emphasize the verification of statistical data in reports, providing explanations and comments on the situation of the reported issues.

- Collected statistical materials must be verified before compiling them into tables and using them for research.

- Statistical materials from Departments, Bureaus, and Offices must be signed off by the Director or Bureau Chief and the statistical staff before submission to the Ministry. Before signing, verify the statistical data and compilation for any errors and correct them immediately.

- Each statistical report table must include an explanation and summary comment on the situation of the reported issue. This section cannot be omitted as it complements the numerical data, making the statistical report complete and clear.

Implementing the above points aims to ensure the accuracy of statistical data, allowing statistical staff to delve deeper into their specific tasks, increase their sense of responsibility, enhance their understanding of various aspects of the sector's work; at the same time, it aids responsible officials in directing work and utilizing statistical data effectively.

3. Reporting on the status of statistical work.

In monthly and quarterly reports sent to the Ministry (written reports), include a section on the status of statistical work in your agency to reflect: completed statistical tasks, difficulties and advantages, innovative ideas and experiences in work, and suggestions for improving statistical work in the sector. Through these reports, the Ministry can grasp the status of statistical work in localities and promptly address any difficulties encountered, gather experiences to share and disseminate among localities.

4. Strengthen organizational structure for statistics, guide and lead statistical work.

Local labor agencies need to definitively assign capable staff dedicated to statistics; where such staff are not present, they must be urgently assigned, and where assignments are incorrect, adjustments must be made.

Study the resolutions of the recent sector-wide statistics conference (from May 21 to May 24, 1958) to implement organizational strengthening, establish statistical work tasks for agencies, define boundaries, and set routines for coordinating work between statistics and other vocational branches.

- Responsible officials must directly lead statistical work in their agencies and be accountable for all submitted statistical reports. They must support statistical staff, create conditions for them to deepen their expertise, allocate time for studying overall policies and sectoral policies to apply them effectively, serving the research needs of the agency and the sector.

5Cooperation between the statistics department and other vocational departments, between labor agencies and other sectors:

- There must be close and continuous coordination between the statistics department and other departments within the agency regarding data and situations; agency staff must be aware of building statistical work for their agency, assisting statistical staff; meetings of other departments must include agency statistical staff to understand the situation; statistical staff and staff from other departments must jointly develop recording systems for statistical tracking to improve reporting.

Upon the proposal of the Ministry, the Central General Statistics Office has approved certain forms and stipulated that basic units must report to the Departments, Bureaus, and Offices of Labor. To ensure comprehensive data collection, it is necessary to maintain close contact with relevant establishments, sectors, enterprises, agricultural and industrial cooperatives, schools..., neighborhoods, communes, clearly explaining the content and necessity thereof, so that they may understand and regularly provide statistical data, gradually forming a routine of regular reporting.

Directors of Labor Zones, Department Heads of Labor, Bureau Chiefs, and Office Heads of Labor should carefully study this directive to fully implement the provisions already established. It is necessary to promptly improve the statistical organization based on the restructured organizational framework, capable of completing the second quarter 1958 reporting according to the newly issued forms.

In the course of implementation, if there are any unclear points or difficulties encountered, they should be reported to the Ministry for additional comments.