Hanoi (VNA)♉ – Issues relating to social welfare and human resources drew great attention from delegates at the 12th National Party Congress during their working session on January 23.

In a reported delivered at the Congress, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, member of the 11th Party Central Committee and Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said ensuring social welfare is the Party’s consistent and fundamental policy to eradicate poverty and guarantee people’s social equality. According to the minister, fruitful economic development will facilitate the welfare of people, and vice versa. Therefore, she said, it is necessary to continue reforming economic institutions and State-owned enterprises, and generating jobs in order to complete a social welfare system compatable with economic development in the new period. More importance should be placed on the effectuation of the 11th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW dated June 1, 2016 on a number of social policy-related matters during 2012-2020, Chuyen noted. It is a must to raise public awareness and their sense of responsibility, especially among disadvantaged groups, to actively escape from poverty, to complete the vocational training programmes for rural farmers, and to increase social insurance coverage, the official said. Regarding the ability of the female labour force to meet industrialisation and modernisation requirements, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, member of the 11th Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Women’s Union, cited the 12th National Party Congress’s draft documents which stress the need to improve women’s spiritual and material life in all spheres and promote gender equality, to help women move forward. The Vietnam Women's Union suggested the Party and State pay more heed to building and implementing the Vietnam female labour force development strategy for 2016-2020 with a vision towards 2030, she said. Under the strategy, the most important task is to raise awareness of the entire political system, society and families, and especially women themselves - of the need for human resource development to fulfill the requirements of the new era, as well as understanding the importance of the role and position played by female labourers. Another mission lies with actualising relevant laws and policies as well as regulations stipulated in the 2013 Constitution. Hoa called for more attention to policies towards women, especially those of ethnic minority groups, residing in remote, far-flung and mountainous areas and the elderly. Dang Ngoc Tung, member of the 11th Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, affirmed that throughout Vietnam’s history, the working class and the trade union have always been closely connected with the nation’s fate. To solidify the trade union as the Party’s firm social establishment and the State’s capable collaborator, it is necessary for further Party building, Tung said. The Party should focus the leadership on the continued implementation of the 10th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 20 on continuing building the Vietnamese working class in the national industrialisation and modernisation period, and take into account the Party Central Secretariat’s Directive 22/CT-TW on building harmonic, stable labour relations, he added. The 12th National Party Congress concluded discussions on these documents on the morning of January 23. After one and a half days, 34 delegates presented reports on important issues within the Congress’s documents. During the morning session, Vo Van Thuong, member of the Secretariat, said by January 23 morning, 200 political parties, organisations and international friends sent congratulations to the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 12th National Party Congress. In the afternoon, the Congress worked at the meeting hall on personnel work.-VNA