According to Circular 21, a Service Enterprise means an enterprise that is licensed for sending Vietnamese worker(s) to work overseas pursuant to the contract(s).— File Photo

Circular No 21/2013/TT-BLDTBXH ("Circular 21"), regulating the cap of escrow deposits and labour markets that a Service Enterprise can negotiate with Vietnamese workers, was promulgated on 10 October 2013.

According to Circular 21, a Service Enterprise means an enterprise that is licensed for sending Vietnamese worker(s) to work overseas pursuant to the contract(s).

The principles of lodging an escrow deposit are set forth in Circular 21; accordingly, (i) the escrow deposit must be lodged upon the business line and the country where a Vietnamese worker will work, and (ii) the amount of the escrow deposit shall not exceed the highest rate stipulated in Circular 21.

Under Annex 1 of Circular 21, the highest escrow deposit applicable to several labour markets and business lines shall be from US$300 to $3,000, or equal to the price of one-way flight ticket from the host country to Viet Nam.

In case a worker does not lodge the escrow deposit or cannot afford to lodge the escrow deposit, the Service Enterprise may demand certain guarantees in compliance with the Joint Circular No 08/2007/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTP dated 11 July 2007 of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice guiding on the Content and the Liquidation of Guarantee Contracts for contract-based workers employed overseas.

The use of escrow deposit money must comply with the provisions of Joint Circular No 17/2007/TTLT-BLDTBXH-NHNNVN dated 04 September 2007 of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the State Bank of Viet Nam on the management and utilisation of the deposits of enterprises and contract-based Vietnamese workers employed in foreign countries.

The Service Enterprise shall be responsible for reporting periodically or occasionally (if requested) on the implementation, management and use of the escrow deposit paid by Vietnamese workers.

This report must be annually sent to the Department of Overseas Labour – the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs before June 20 and December 20.

Circular 21 shall be effective from 1 December, 2013.

New regulation on social marketing products

From October 20, retail prices of social marketing products must be printed onpackaging.

This is provided in the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Finances Joint Circular No 25/2013/TTLT-BYT-BTC from September 4, stipulating the financial management of social marketing activities for contraceptive devices and products for HIV/AIDS and preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

Retail prices and the subsidies for each product label must suit each period after being appraised by evaluation councils and decided by the Ministry of Health.

The Social Marketing Management Agency must determine prices of aid goods imported without fixed unit prices.

The rate of contributions to the state budget per each social marketing product must not be lower than 30 per cent of its retail price.

Social marketing products that have not been sold as planned will be carried forward to the following year while expired products will be disposed of under the current regulations on disposal and destruction of expired medicines. — VNS