JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMEN-TATION OF DECREE No.81-CP OF NOVEMBER 23, 1995 OF THE GOVERNMENT ON DISABLED LABORERS

In execution of Decree No.81-CP of November 23, 1995 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of Articles of the Labor Code concerning disabled laborers, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment hereby provide the following guidance:

I. SUBJECT TO REGULATION

1. The disabled persons defined in Article 1 of Decree No.81-CP are persons whose working capacity has been reduced by 21% and more due to disability certified by the competent Medical Examination Council.

2. The job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons defined in Article 2 and Article 3 of Decree No.81-CP which meet all the conditions stipulated in Section II of this Circular.

3. The job training establishments and other enterprises of any economic sector and any form of ownership which have the obligations and interests defined in Articles 13,14 and 15 of Decree No.81-CP.

II. CONDITIONS FOR JOB TRAINING, PRODUCTION AND BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS RESERVED EXCLUSIVELY FOR DISABLED PERSONS

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The job training establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons include: schools and centers for job training founded by the State, the agencies, mass organizations, economic and social organizations or individuals according to the prescriptions of law to help the disabled persons learn trades and raise their skills associated with the creation of jobs.

They shall be entitled to the preferential treatment stipulated in this Circular if they meet the following conditions:

a/ At least 70% of the permanent enrolment at the establishment are disabled persons;

b/ The establishment is equipped with classrooms, equipment and means for theoretical teaching and practice facilities that suit the disabled and can ensure safety and hygiene;

c/ The establishment has a teaching program and curriculum suited to the disability state of the disabled;

d/ The teachers must have the following conditions:

- The teachers of theory must have at least a graduation diploma in secondary technical or professional education, a certificate of pedagogy and of supplementary education on the psychology of the disabled. These diplomas and certificates must be issued by the educational and training service;

- The practice instructors must have a skill level at least one grade higher than the grade required by the program and a high professional skill capable of guiding the disabled learners.

e/ The establishment must have the decision of founding or the permit of founding and the permit of conducting job teaching issued by the competent agency which clearly write down the task of the school or center of job training for disabled persons.

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The production or business establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons defined in Article 3 of Decree No.81-CP of November 23,1995 of the Government include: State enterprises, private enterprises, limited liability companies, stock companies, cooperatives, cooperative teams founded by disabled persons, or by the various levels of the administration, by agencies, mass organizations, socio-economic organizations or individuals as prescribed by law aimed at creating jobs, improving the life, rehabilitating functions for the disabled persons. They shall enjoy the preferential treatment defined in this Circular if they meet the following conditions:

a/ It is founded as prescribed by law and has the legal person status;

b/ Each of its units must have from 10 laborers upward of whom more than 51% are disabled;

c/ Its regulation or working regulation must conform with the conditions, situation and health of the disabled; the regulation must include a commitment to ensure jobs and interests of the disabled; record the amount of State capital assigned to its management and use for the common goal and regarded as the State fund reserved for the disabled persons working at the establishment. The disabled persons shall enjoy profits from this capital as other capital sources contributed to the establishment;

d/ The managing board must include a disabled person who is head or deputy head of the establishment;

e/ The establishment must carry out all the provisions of the State on the regime of accountancy, tax registration and tax payment as prescribed;

f/ It must be recognized by decision of the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government or by the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service acting by delegation of such committee as production and business establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons.

III. SETTING UP, USING AND MANAGING THE JOB FUND RESERVED FOR DISABLED PERSONS IN THE PROVINCES AND CITIES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT:

The provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to set up the job fund reserved for disabled persons as defined in Article 4 and Article 5 of Decree No.81-CP to help the disabled rehabilitate their working capacity and learn jobs or to create jobs and support the job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons and support the job training establishments and other enterprises of all economic sectors which take in a high proportion of disabled persons to learn jobs and work.

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- The local budget: the annual fund reserved for the disabled as prescribed by the People's Council and the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government.

- The National Fund for Job Creation (in the National Budget): each year the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assume the main responsibility and together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment determine the need of borrowed fund and support fund as supplement to the Job Fund reserved for the disabled in the localities with budget difficulties, low budget resources or too high a proportion of disabled.

- The monthly remittances of the enterprises which do not take in enough disabled persons to work as prescribed in Articles 14 and 15 of Decree No.81-CP and Point B2, Section VI of this Circular.

- The aid and assistance sources of the organizations and individuals inside and outside the country.

- Other incomes.

2. The job fund for the disabled shall be used as follows:

a/ To provide support for:

- The job training establishments, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons in order to build or repair workshops, purchase machinery and technical equipment, maintain job training and develop production.

- The other enterprises of all economic sectors which take in disabled persons to work representing 31% and more of the total current labor force at the enterprises.

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b/ Low interest loans according to the prescriptions of the National Fund for Job Creation shall be accorded to the following objects:

- Job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons.

- Individual laborers or groups of laborers who are disabled persons.

- Job training establishments and other enterprises of all economic sectors which take in a labor force for job training and work of which 31% and more are disabled persons.

c/ Support for rehabilitation activities of the disabled persons.

3. Management of the fund.

- The job fund reserved for the disabled shall have the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province and city directly under the Central Government as account owner or he may delegate this right to the Director of the Finance- Price Service; the balance of the Fund shall be carried forward for use in the next year. The localities with large balances and small expenditures need shall have to regulate the fund in favor of those with big expenditures need but limited resources of income as stipulated by the Joint Decision on Regulation of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (concrete guidance is forthcoming).

- The provincial/municipal Finance-Price Service in coordination with the provincial/municipal Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service shall have to help the People's Committee in the organization of the collection and allocation of the expenditures as currently provided by the State in this Circular and periodically (quarterly, annually) report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on the income, expenditures and the fund balance.

- The Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service shall assume main responsibility and coordinate with the Finance-Price Service, the Planning and Investment Service and other specialized agencies of the province or city directly under the Central Government in guiding the production and business establishments and job training centers reserved for disabled persons and the units eligible to use the Job Fund reserved exclusively for the disabled concerning the procedures of application for capital allocation or lending and shall take responsibility for evaluating the project and submit to the People's Committee of the province or city for decision to grant loan or allocate support fund.

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In the process of job learning and finding or seeking for self employment, the disabled laborers are entitled to the following regimes:

1. The disabled persons who learn job or receive job fostering at State-managed job training establishments shall come under Article 12 of Decree No.81-CP;

- Enjoy 50% reduction of tuition if they have their working capacity reduced by from 31% to 40%.

- Be exempt from tuition if their labor capacity is reduced by 41% and more. During the period of job training or fostering at the full time training centers, if they receive no pay or other annuities or are not qualified to receive scholarships, they shall receive social allowances at the rate of 100,000 Dong/month as directed by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training.

- The invalids in the category of those having made meritorious contributions to the revolution shall enjoy preferential treatment as provided for in Inter-ministerial Circular No.07/TT-LB of May 27,1996 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Training guiding the implementation of Decree No.28-CP of April 29, 1995 of the Government.

2. The disabled persons learning or fostering jobs at the State-managed job training establishments and receiving no training allocation by the State shall be considered for financial support for job training at the rate of 50% of the tuition he has to pay to the job training center under the job training contract and the price frame prescribed by the State from the job fund reserved for the disabled.

3. A disabled person seeking a job through job service centers shall be exempt from job introduction fee.

4. Self-employed individuals or working groups who are disabled and who need capital for production, business or service, shall be considered for loans at low interest from the Job Fund reserved for the disabled.

5. The disabled who meet with special difficulties shall be considered for tax exemption or reduction as guided by the Ministry of Finance.

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The job training establishments reserved exclusively for the disabled (12 months after starting operation) and the production and business establishments reserved for the disabled (6 months after starting operation) which fill the conditions mentioned in Section II of this Circular shall enjoy the following policies:

1. They are allocated support fund from the Job Fund reserved for the disabled as stipulated in Article 7 of Decree No.81-CP:

- A job training or production and business establishment reserved exclusively for the disabled applying for support to a project shall be considered for allocation of part of the training and retraining cost; part of the fund to renew or supplement equipment, broaden the establishment, maintain and develop production and job training, draw in more disabled persons to learn job and work or to create the initial material and technical bases.

- The job training establishments which associate production with practice to raise the skill and create jobs for disabled persons shall be entitled to the policies defined at this Circular as for a production and business establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons if they fill the conditions defined at Section II, Point 2 mentioned above.

- Level of allocation: This level shall be based on the job training development project and the number of disabled persons trained each year. For the production and business establishments it shall be based on the production and business project, the list of workers who are disabled and are working at the establishment. The average allocation shall not exceed one million Dong per disabled worker.

- The production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons which organize job training or the raising of skill for the disabled right at the establishment, or send disabled persons to learn jobs at the schools or job training centers to which the State does not allocate training cost shall be considered for partial allocation of the cost (depending on the projects of each branch and trade or the job training contract which the establishment has signed with the job training center). The cost must be approved and proposed by the provincial/municipal Service of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

2. They shall be considered for loans from the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons as prescribed in Article 8 of Decree No.81-CP:

The job training or production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons shall be considered for capital loan to maintain and expand job training, production and business and create more jobs, draw in more disabled persons to learn jobs and to engage in production and business.

The level, time limit and interest rate of the loans shall comply with the current provisions on capital loans from the National Fund for job creation.

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- The job training or production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons are exempt from the various kinds of tax as stipulated in Circular No.23-TC/TCT of April 26,1996 and Circular No.32 TC/TCT of July 6,1996 of the Ministry of Finance.

The exempted tax amount is the sum indirectly paid by the State for the expenditures of the establishments to make up for the low work productivity of the disabled compared to ordinary persons. This money must be spent on the following objectives:

+ Making up for the expenditures in production, job training including the pay and wages for those disabled persons with low incomes.

+ Improving and renovating work tools and job training implements to make them suitable for each disability and improvement of the working conditions, labor safety requirement, the organization of job training and raising the skills for the disabled persons right at the establishment.

+ Expenditures on activities of labor capacity rehabilitation for the disabled persons and other expenditures.

Each year the job training or production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons must report to the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service and the local finance agency the amount of tax exempted, the money already used and the amount retained to be put into the fund for production development and job training at the establishment.

4. Other preferential policies and regimes according to Article 9 and Article 11 of Decree No.81-CP:

The job training or production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons are protected and encouraged to develop by the State; they are given priority in the allocation of favorable locations to set up places for job training and production and business; they shall be assisted to invest in technique, in improving and renewing technology and shall be assigned the appropriate production lines, granted loans at low interests and other preferences in the framework prescribed by law.

The capital resources invested by the State, or given as aid by organizations and individuals in the country and from abroad are property of the State and assigned to the job training or production and business establishments reserved exclusively for the disabled shall be managed and used in strict conformity with the contents and objectives defined in this Circular. The job training or production and business establishments not founded and managed by the State (non State establishments), after ceasing their task of job training or when they are no longer recognized as production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons, shall have to return the whole property issued from the allocated or support fund of the State and remitted to the Job Fund for disabled persons in the locality.

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A. For the job training establishments:

1. The places which take in disabled persons to learn jobs, to retrain or to raise skill shall receive tax relief from the job training turnover as prescribed in Circular No.32 TC/TCT of July 6, 1996 of the Ministry of Finance;

2. The job training places which have projects of job, training for disabled persons and which have at least 31% of their enrolments in the schools or courses being disabled persons shall be entitled to borrow to purchase implements and equipments in service of teaching and learning from the Job Fund reserved for the disabled. The level, time limit and interest rate of the loans shall be the same as in the job training establishments reserved exclusively for the disabled.

B. For the enterprises:

1. The following enterprises shall have to accept a proportion of disabled laborers in accordance with Article 14 of Decree No.91-CP:

- State enterprises;

- Private enterprises;

- Stock companies, limited liabilities companies;

- Foreign-invested enterprises;

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- Enterprises of political and social mass organizations and associations;

- Cooperatives and cooperative groups.

a/ 2% for the enterprises of the production branches, electricity, metallurgy, chemicals, geology, cartology, oil and gas, mining, aquatic product exploitation, capital construction, transport.

b/ 3% for the enterprises of the remaining branches and trades

The proportion of disabled persons which the enterprise accept is the ratio of disabled persons to the total of the laborers present at the enterprise on a monthly average.

In using disabled persons as laborers the enterprises must assign to them jobs appropriate with the capacity and the disability of each of them.

2. If the enterprise has not yet accepted or has accepted a number of disabled persons lower than the prescribed number, each month it has to remit to the Job Fund reserved for the disabled persons a sum corresponding to the minimum salary as prescribed by the State multiplied to the number of disabled persons that the enterprise has failed to take in.

The enterprise or its branch shall have to make remittances at the locality where it is located.

Each quarter the enterprise shall have to make remittances to the Job Fund reserved for the disabled. On December 25 of each year at the latest the enterprise shall have to remit the full sum it has to remit for the year. Failing this mark or if it does nor remit on schedule, the Finance and Price Service in coordination with the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service shall, through the Bank where the enterprise has its accounts of deposits, collect the money on its behalf and deposit the money into the accounts of the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons. The enterprises which deliberately shirk this duty shall be penalized under the Ordinance on Administrative Sanctions or shall be examined for penal liability.

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An enterprise which takes in a labor force of which less than 31% are disabled persons shall not be entitled to the above benefits and the fund which has been allocated to it shall have to be returned and remitted to the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons.

VII. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION:

1. The disabled persons eligible for the regimes stipulated in this Circular must have a certification from the Medical Certification Council on their disability and the rate of reduction of working capacity caused by this disability (the dossier and procedures for medical evaluation shall conform with the guidance at the Inter-ministerial Circular No.34/TT-LB of December 29, 1993 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health). For war invalids and diseased armymen, they must be provided with certificates of war invalids or diseased armymen. For disabled persons who are deaf, mute, blind, amputated or are paralyzed at the arms or legs, or are mentally deficient (cretins) or suffer from special deformities, if they are not examined by the Medical Certification Council, they must have a certificate from the district or township Medical Section.

2. The production and business establishments which meet the conditions stipulated at Point 2, Section II of this Circular and those job training or production and business establishments which have from 31% upward of their newly recruited workforce to learn jobs and work being disabled persons, if they are to enjoy the preferential regime under Decree No.81-CP and this Circular, they must be recognized by the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government or by delegation of this Committee by the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service as "Establishment for production and business reserved exclusively for the disabled" or certified as "an establishment with 31% and more of their workforce being disabled persons". The establishment shall send the dossier to the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service for checking and verification.

The dossier shall include:

- An application with certification that the establishment is a production and business establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons, or with certification that its workforce is composed of 31% and more of disabled persons;

- A copy of the decision or permit to found the establishment and the business license (or permit of job training if it is a job training establishment) certified by the Notary Public;

- The Statute or operating regulation of the establishment;

- The list of the managing and excutive board;

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3. The job training or production and business establishments which are eligible for the policies and regimes stipulated in Decree No.81-CP and this Circular and which wish to be allocated fund for expenditures or supplementary allocation or to borrow capital must make a dossier and project and send it to the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service, the Finance-Price Service for checking and evaluation (including individual requests of the disabled persons to borrow capital or to be allocated job learning expenditures).

a/ The dossier and project shall be composed of :

- A request (application) for capital allocation or lending;

- The project asking for capital allocation and expenditures or project asking for loans;

- The list of learners and laborers at the establishment, the disabled persons at the establishment certified by the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Section of the district, prefect or city (complete with date of birth and serial number of the war invalids and disability cards).

- For the job training establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons, they must be accompanied with a copy of the decision to found the establishment or to allow the founding signed by the competent authority. For an establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons, it must also send a copy of the decision to recognize it as "an establishment for production and business reserved exclusively for disabled persons", or a certification as "an establishment with 31% and more of their workforce being disabled persons" and a copy of the business license certified by the Notary Public.

The project applying for capital allocation and the project applying for capital loans must be done separately. The project owner must be the person in charge of the establishment and must take responsibility for the truthfulness of the contents of the project. He must manage the allocated capital and must repay in full the loans and the interests on the prescribed date.

b/ The disabled persons learning job must send an application for job learning expenditures attached to the signed job learning contract certified by the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Section of the district, prefect or city.

4. The Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Section of the district, prefect or city shall have:

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- To certify and propose to the provincial/municipal Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service to give support to the disabled persons who meet with difficulties while learning jobs or creating jobs. To check and certify the list of laborers who are disabled persons learning jobs or working at the job training or production and business establishments located in the territory of the district, prefect or city.

5. The provincial/municipal Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service shall have:

a/ To assume the prime responsibility and together with the Finance-Price Service, the Planning and Investment Service and related branches to help the People's Committee of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to work out the plan, monitor, manage and use the job fund reserved for the disabled in the locality; guide the establishments and other objects to elaborate the projects, check, evaluate and certify the targets and the feasibility of each project, certify the list of the disabled learning jobs and working at the establishment, ratify the expenditures on job training of the establishment or the disabled persons.

b/ To make a sum-up report to the People's Committee of the province or city so that it may issue decisions concerning the projects asking for capital allocation or lending, approve the job learning expenditures from the Job Fund reserved for the disabled. If the need of the project is bigger than the fund can supply, the People's Committee of the province or city shall write an official dispatch proposing the Ministry of the Labor War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to supply additional fund to the Job Fund reserved for the disabled in the locality.

To make a general report on the allocated and lent capital already ratified, the income-expenditure balance sheet of the Fund, the official dispatch of the People's Committee of the province or city on the supplementation of capital attached to the dossier of the project asking for capital allocation to the establishment and related documents to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in order to monitor and integrate it into the annual plan.

c/ To organize the guidance for the implementation of the policies and regimes with regard to the laborers who are disabled persons under the management of the locality. To check and certify the number of disabled laborers that the enterprise has to take in under the prescribed ratio, submit it to the People's Committee of the province or city for decision concerning each enterprise.

d/ To guide and help in the setting up of job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons. To check and evaluate and propose to the People's Committee of the province or city for decision or for issuing a decision to delegate power to recognize them as job training and production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons and certify those job training, production or business establishments with disabled persons making up 31% and more of the labor force. To organize annual controls. Those establishments which are no longer eligible for being job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for disabled persons or those establishments where disabled persons represent less than 31% of the labor force, they shall be given 3 months to consolidate. If they still cannot qualify, they shall be reported to the People's Committee of the province or city for consideration and decision or the Committee is empowered to decide that the establishment is no longer eligible for the policies and regimes of a job training or production and business establishment reserved exclusively for disabled persons or an establishment eligible for the policies under this Circular.

6. The provincial/municipal Finance and Price Service shall have:

To coordinate with the provincial/municipal Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Service and Planning and Investment Service in determining and checking the projects funded by the National Job Creation Fund before submitting it to the People's Committee of the province or city for consideration and decision; to ratify the job training draft expenditures from the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons; to check the final expenditures report belonging to the Job Fund supplied by the central budget, ratify the final accounts statement of the support expenditures and loans from the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons in the locality.

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a/ To suggest the requirement in loans and support allocation as supplementary fund for the Job Fund reserved for disabled persons in the localities, synthetize them into a general report to submit to the Government for approval in the annual programs of the National Fund for Job Creation.

b/ After the Government approves, the Ministry of Labor War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall make readjustments to balance the needs for the support fund and the loans in order to make a draft distribution of the plan to the localities. On the basis of the agreement among the Ministries, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall decide to let the Ministry of Finance fill the procedures for transferring the fund from the Central Budget to the job fund reserved for disabled persons of the localities which receive support.

c/ To organize the checking of the implementation of the policies and regimes concerning laborers who are disabled, the job training, production and business establishments reserved exclusively for the disabled persons, the establishments which have the responsibility to take in disabled laborers and the establishments having the responsibility to contribute to the Fund, the contributions to the Fund and the use of the Job Fund for disabled persons in the localities.

d/ To examine the procedures and contents of the projects asking for fund allocation at the proposal of the People's Committee of the province or city in order to fill the procedures for transferring the fund in the order prescribed above.

e/ To make periodical reports every six months and every year to the Government on this domain.

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing. The earlier regulations which are contrary to this Circular are now annulled. In the process of its implementation should any question arise it should be reported in time to the Joint Ministries for study and settlement.

THE MINISTRY OF LABOR, WAR INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
MINISTER




Tran Dinh Hoan

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
MINISTER




Nguyen Sinh Hung

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