Expert advocates shorter work hours for people to find partners

Addressing a workshop on improving policies in the Population Law and suggesting demographic transition policies for Asia-Pacific economies, held on Tuesday in Hanoi, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, a member of the 15th National Assembly and former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, said the replacement fertility rate of Vietnam is not sustainable.

The average number of children per woman of childbearing age is 1.96, the lowest in history, and is projected to continue to decline, he said.

“The decline in fertility is due to the trend of late marriage, with many people choosing not to get married and have kids,” he said. “For instance, in HCMC, the current average age of first marriage is 30.4, a record high in Vietnam, contributing to low fertility rates and accelerated population aging.”

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, a member of the 15th National Assembly and former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, speaks at a workshop in Hanoi on Aug. 6, 2024. Archived photo

The reasons for late marriage or not marrying include being busy with work, financial difficulties, career pursuits, and a desire for freedom. Additionally, young people are not enthusiastic about marriage due to the influence of broken family stories and the inability to find an ideal partner model.

“If there are no breakthrough changes in economic, social, and population policies, Vietnam’s total fertility rate will continue to decline and remain low for a long time,” Nhan said.

He suggested that working hours for employees should be regulated at eight working hours per day and 40 hours per week so that they have time to find a life partner, take care of their children and family, and pursue personal interests.

In reality, many laborers are working 10-12 hours a day and also working over the weekend, leaving no time for social relationships and family care.

The current Labor Code stipulates that people working under normal conditions should not work more than 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Businesses have the right to set daily or weekly working hours but must inform workers. The government encourages businesses (private sector) to implement a 40-hour work week.

In May, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed that the government build a roadmap to reduce the weekly working hours of private sector workers from 48 to 44, aiming for 40 hours.

Meanwhile, the working hours in the public sector are regulated as 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day.

Additionally, working conditions, maternity leave, salary, and promotion policies at companies should encourage marriage and childbirth, avoiding conflicts between work and family responsibilities.

For each family to have two children, the income of two working people must adequately support four people (two adults and two children), according to Nhan.

“Therefore, the government, businesses, and workers need to reach a consensus on solutions to ensure that a two-working-parent family has sufficient income to raise and educate two children properly. We need to transition from setting minimum wages to establishing a minimum living wage for a family of four,” he said.

A couple watches a firework display to celebrate a new lunar year in downtown HCMC, Jan. 23, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Nhan said a competitive housing market with government’s support and supervision is necessary so that workers can rent or buy homes at acceptable prices, preventing the lack of housing from becoming an insurmountable barrier to getting married.

At the workshop, Le Thanh Dung, Director of the Population Department of the Ministry of Health, said it is now necessary to abolish the regulation that each couple should have only 1-2 children, and couples should have the right to decide the number of children, the timing of childbirth, and the spacing between births.

The regulation that each couple should have only 1-2 children has been in place for many years, including penalties for violating population policies such as having a third child, particularly among high-ranking officials.

However, the current penalty for having a third child is no longer appropriate with the ongoing situation, he said.

“Vietnam is experiencing a declining birth rate, not yet at alarming levels but it will become a significant issue without intervention from now on,” Dung said. “The Population Department will continue to advise relevant agencies to complete policies that are suitable for the current reality, thereby achieving the best population structure and quality in the future.”

The draft Population Law is expected to be submitted to the government in December.