Workers in Ho Chi Minh City are turning to
have to fake medical certificates to eek out time from unsympathetic employers
to deal with personal emergencies.
Pharmacies
in Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City have been selling fake medical certificates
which grant workers with sick leave entitlement.
The
fake certificates are widely sold at photocopy shops in Linh Trung Export
Processing Zone on the border between Ho Chi Minh and Binh Duong city. Despite
initial reluctance, an owner of a photocopy shop admitted that fake documents
could be obtained, “We only do the entire resume at VND170,000 (USD8.15) which
include a health certificate with hospital stamp. We’re having problems with
sick leave certificates because the police are investigating the issue.”
Local
motorbike taxi drivers said the certificates for sick leave were hard to source
because of how they related to employee insurance payments. The stores are now
only willing to sell the documents to regular customers.
Insurance
agencies said it was difficult to distinguish fake and real certificates. Some
of the forged documents include real hospital stamps and doctor signatures.
In a
recent investigation with the workers of Viet Nam Sun Shin Company, most of the
workers admitted they had resorted to using fake certificates because the
company had been unwilling to offer basic sick leave.
A
female worker broke down in tears when being questioned by the Ho Chi Minh
PA17-Economic Security Office, “I wanted to visit my father. He is really sick in
hospital but I couldn’t get permission. I had to buy a fake certificate.”
Unfortunately, she received news from hospital during the interview that her
father had passed away.
When
being asked about the certificate problem, the personnel department of Viet Nam
Sun Shin Company only said they had the situation under control.
Director
of Ho Chi Minh Social Insurance Cao Van Sang said that if the workers had
permission for sick leave then they were entitled to 75% of the daily minimum
wage of around VND31,923-59,615 (USD1.15-2.15). However, the workers were
unlikely to use the fake certification to scam money, as the documents cost
between VND100-300,000 (USD4.79-14.38).
Sang
said the problem was caused by the link between the year-end bonuses and work
hours. Workers want sick leave so they can attend personal emergencies without
having their year-end bonuses put in jeopardy.
TTXVN,
dtinews.vn
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