Govt compensating private sector workers laid off during pandemic

Employees who are members of their business’s social insurance scheme are eligible to receive financial assistance for temporary unemployment or loss of workdays during the COVID-19 lockdown.
However, only members of business-related social insurance schemes will be able to receive compensation from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). The policy does not cover people who are members of the state social insurance organisation because the government pays them a monthly salary.

Affected businesses forced to close during the COVID-19 outbreak measures such as hotels, restaurants, and tour companies, along with factories that stopped work, can request financial assistance for temporarily unemployed staff from the NSSF under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
An NSSF official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Vientiane Times by telephone on Wednesday that many workplaces introduced staff rotation policies to reduce the number of people in offices and factories, meaning employees worked one day on and then one day off.
The NSSF would provide financial support equivalent to 60 percent of the insured employee’s salary to reduce the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.  The subsidy would only cover employees who have lost work temporarily because of COVID-19, not for workers who have resigned, she said.
The payments will be made to affected unemployed workers now requiring prompt financial assistance to cover their daily living costs.
“At present, 249 privates enterprises have submitted the necessary documentation for financial assistance, and the NSSF has paid about 12 billion kip to assist over 12,000 employees of 202 privates enterprises across the country,” the official explained.
Employers must submit the necessary documentation for financial support; employees cannot directly request assistance.
Employers need to compile a list of insured employees for the NSSF with their details confirmed by the relevant association and state agencies to verify workers have temporarily been unemployed or deprived of their full roster of workdays, according to a report by the NSSF.
The NSSF will crosscheck the details of each employee’s claim. If it corresponds with the organisation’s data, the money will be transferred directly to the employee’s bank account.
Laos confirmed its first coronavirus case at the end of March, and the government introduced preventive measures which included a lockdown and a call for employees to work from home.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update September 3, 2020)