Joint Circular No. 18-TT/LB on guiding the implementation of certain additional provisions regarding the welfare benefits for village cadres.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regarding the guidance on implementing certain additional points regarding welfare benefits for village cadres

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Implementing Point 3 of Circular No. 85-TTg/NC dated September 11, 1964, issued by the Prime Minister on supplementing necessary welfare benefits for village cadres, and to supplement certain points in Circular No. 33-TT/LB dated June 29, 1962, previously issued by the Joint Board of the Ministry of Interior - Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Health, the Joint Board hereby provides specific guidance as follows:

I. REGIME FOR VILLAGE CADRES IN CASE OF ILLNESS, MATERNITY, DEATH

Village cadres who hold the following positions: members of the Village Administrative Committee, village party committee members or branch committee members in villages without a Party Committee, heads and deputy heads of the Village United Front Liaison Office, secretaries and deputy secretaries of the Youth Union, chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the Women's Union, heads and deputy heads of specialized departments at the village level, when they are actually engaged in their duties and fall ill, give birth, or die, shall enjoy the following benefits:

1. Benefit regime when sick.

When sick, they shall be examined and treated at local hospitals or health stations. If it is determined that they need hospitalization, hospitals and health stations shall make every effort to arrange for them to be hospitalized in rooms designated for state civil servants.

During hospitalization, they shall be provided with daily meals and nutritional supplements amounting to 1 dong per day, and medicines will be supplied according to their medical condition. In cases of serious illness, additional nutritional supplements may be provided based on the decision of the treating physician. The costs for meals, nutritional supplements, and medicines mentioned above shall be covered by the provincial or municipal budget. In cases where village cadres continue working while being treated, hospitals and health stations shall provide medicines based on their current capacity and closely monitor the patients during treatment. The cost of medicines shall be budgeted by the Provincial Health Department and covered by the provincial or municipal budget.

If village cadres mentioned above request additional medicines, tonics, or traditional medicines from physicians or doctors beyond those provided by hospitals or health stations, or if they are given vouchers to purchase milk, sugar, etc., for nutritional purposes as needed, then the costs for these items shall be borne by the patients themselves.

Referrals for medical examinations or hospitalization shall be proposed by the village health station or midwife and confirmed by the County Administrative Committee. In emergency or severe cases, the village health station or midwife may directly refer the patient to a hospital or health station, and subsequently, the Village Administrative Committee shall report to the County Administrative Committee to obtain a confirmation letter to be sent to the hospital or health station.

2. Benefit regime when giving birth.

Female village cadres within the scope mentioned above, when giving birth at home or at the village health station, shall receive a one-time maternity allowance of 7 dongs, covered by the provincial or municipal budget.

In cases where hospitalization is required for childbirth, they shall receive meals, nutritional supplements, and medicines as when sick, but shall not receive the 7-dong maternity allowance.

3. Benefit regime when deceased.

Village cadres within the scope entitled to sickness and maternity allowances mentioned above, if they die at home or at the village health station, shall receive a burial allowance of 50 dongs from the state.

In cases where they die in a hospital or health station or while on duty away from home, they shall receive a burial allowance of 100 dongs from the state.

The aforementioned burial allowances shall be covered by the provincial or municipal budget.

The expenses for sickness, maternity, and burial allowances mentioned above shall be recorded under category 6, item 66, sub-item 3 of the local government budget estimate.

It should be noted that the heads and deputy heads of specialized departments at the village level specified above only include those positions established by the Council of Ministers or the Ministry of Interior, Central Organization Bureau, and those departments approved by the Provincial Administrative Committee and agreed upon by the Ministry of Interior.

The County Administrative Committee must strictly manage the list of village cadres, both full-time and part-time, entitled to sickness, maternity, and death benefits as stipulated in this circular to avoid any confusion during implementation.

Other village cadres such as executive members of youth and women's organizations, branch committee members of village party branches, and other specialized technical cadres, when sick, shall be examined and treated like ordinary citizens but shall be prioritized in hospital admission. During treatment, they shall pay hospital fees. If they are extremely impoverished and unable to afford it, they may be prioritized for consideration of fee exemption or reduction, which shall be decided by the Provincial Administrative Committee upon recommendation by the Village Administrative Committee. The costs for exempting or reducing fees for impoverished cadres shall be covered by the provincial or municipal budget (social relief fund). Specifically, mountainous area village cadres shall still be exempt from paying hospital fees, covered by the provincial or municipal budget (social relief fund).

II. OTHER REGIMES

1. Regime for attending conferences and training sessions organized by higher authorities.

Conferences or training sessions organized by higher-level agencies for village cadres must be strictly managed to reduce unnecessary meetings that affect the work and production of village cadres. The program, content, duration, composition of delegates, and budget for conferences or training sessions organized by local agencies must be reviewed and approved by the Provincial Administrative Committee (or the County Administrative Committee authorized by the Provincial Administrative Committee). If organized by central agencies, they must be reviewed and approved by the head of the ministry or agency equivalent to a ministry, or an agency under the Council of Ministers.

Specialized departments at the county level may convene cadres from their respective fields in the village to attend meetings at the county level no more than once every three months, and each meeting shall not exceed one day, except for year-end summary meetings or meetings addressing major issues, which may last up to two days. In case of emergencies, if county and provincial departments need to convene village cadres for extraordinary meetings, they must be approved by the Provincial Administrative Committee or Municipal Administrative Committee.

In areas affected by war where communication is difficult, if approval by the province would cause delays, the Provincial Administrative Committee may authorize the County Administrative Committee to review and approve extraordinary meetings convened by county departments for village cadres.

When attending meetings or training courses mentioned above, all full-time and part-time village officials shall be covered by the organizing agency for:

a) Travel expenses for transportation to and from the meeting or training course according to actual costs;

b) Subsidies for meals during travel to and from the meeting or training course as when on official business;

c) Accommodation and meal expenses at the meeting or training course at a rate of VND50 to VND60 per day (at the standard rate of the organizing agency). For ethnic minority officials, if they consume sticky rice, they will be provided with glutinous rice, thus their meal subsidy may be increased to VND70 per day;

d) Expenses for paper, pens, study materials, and recreational equipment such as volleyball, chess, and dominoes, which may be purchased by the training agency if necessary, but must be strictly economical;

e) Female village officials who have children under three years old that must accompany them while attending training or meetings shall be able to send their children to kindergarten or childcare centers nearby. The cost of childcare shall still be covered by the training or meeting organizing agency;

g) For ethnic minority village officials, when attending training courses lasting one month or longer away from home, during holidays and Sundays when they cannot return home, their parents, spouse, children, or siblings can visit. If these visitors are not state employees, they will be subsidized VND60 per day for meals during their stay at the training course, but the maximum number of people eligible for this subsidy is three, each person not exceeding three days, and each trainee can only receive this subsidy once per course, and this expense shall also be covered by the training agency;

2. Travel allowance regulations for village officials.

All full-time and part-time village officials, when attending meetings, training sessions, or being dispatched or mobilized by the district, province, or central government, shall be entitled to:

- Transportation expenses for travel to and from the event according to actual costs;

- Meal subsidies during travel, if the journey takes more than one day (excluding travel by vehicle or walking) and requires eating outside the office for both meals, then a subsidy of VND80 will be provided, if only one meal is consumed outside the office, then a subsidy of VND40 will be provided. In cases where travel is outside the province (to another province or to the central level), the current allowance system for state employees on official business shall apply;

If traveling for village work, transportation and meal subsidies during travel shall be covered by the village budget;

In cases where village officials use bicycles for work, when traveling outside the village (to the district or province), they shall be entitled to meal subsidies during travel as if they were walking (for example, if the journey requires walking for one day and eating two meals outside the office, a subsidy of VND80 will be provided, if using a bicycle for half a day and only eating one meal outside the office, the travel meal subsidy of VND80 will still be provided as if walking);

Specifically, for village officials who use bicycles for work, they shall be provided with bicycle spare parts purchase vouchers at the same price as state employees;

3. Monthly subsistence allowance regulations for absent village officials.

1. Village officials who are absent due to being sent to training courses or due to illness requiring medical treatment upon recommendation by a doctor or physician shall receive monthly subsistence allowances during their time in training or hospitalization, but not exceeding three months from the date of departure for training or hospitalization;

2. Female village officials, when giving birth, are entitled to a two-month leave period and a monthly subsistence allowance for both months. After this two-month period, if they are unable to resume work due to continued illness, with certification from a doctor or physician, they will receive an additional one-month allowance during the extended leave period. If they have not returned to work by the fourth month, they will no longer receive the allowance;

3. In cases of genuine necessity, village officials may be granted leave for personal matters for less than one month by the district or provincial People's Committee, and they will continue to receive the monthly allowance. If the leave exceeds one month, they will not receive the allowance from the second month onwards;

4. Village officials who are transferred by the district or province for other work assignments lasting one month or longer shall have their monthly subsistence allowances paid by the employing agency from the date of transfer. During the transfer period, the transferred official will no longer receive the monthly subsistence allowance for village officials.