Will threat to pull out of Analysts fear foreign companies could twist policymakers’ arms to ensure their profits get priority over people’s interest  Factory workers change shifts at the To shore up the sagging confidence of foreign investors, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has pledged to forge ahead with overhauling Dung’s message came at a recent trade fair in The government is in fact working on a circular to guide relevant ministries on simplifying the licensing process and eliminating superfluous formalities (*). Clearly, in a bid to resuscitate an economy that grew at its slowest rate in 13 years last year, Vietnamese leaders are taking serious note of foreign businesses’ threats to pull out of the country or scale down and go to other countries with a better business climate. Analysts concede it is reasonable for any government that wants to be seen as business-friendly to consult businesses on issues affecting them. But with the corporate sector becoming a stakeholder in the lawmaking process in “If laws and regulations critical to defending public health, environment, food security, incomes, or rights will be weakened, this is cause for worry and should be challenged,” Shalmali Guttal, a senior researcher at the Bangkok-based NGO Focus on the Global South, says. “If the Vietnamese government itself is weakening its regulatory regimes in order to attract foreign investment, then there is no point in blaming foreign companies,” she adds, however. Corporate benefit vs public health In June 2012 the National Assembly, But it was a close-run thing. In a letter to Vietnamese lawmakers that was leaked to the media, the US embassy in Hanoi had said: “Several US companies have contacted the US Embassy regarding their serious concerns about this proposed prohibition on advertising of formula milk products, which could have a significant negative impact on their business in Vietnam. “We ask that the National Assembly fully consider the implications of any changes to the draft [law] and engage in a full decision with affected stakeholders before making any such changes.” The pressure seemed to have worked, with a lawmaker admitting to Vietweekthat the drafters of the bill decided not to table it until as late as the night before the vote. “But thanks to strong advocacy [by health groups], the house did a U-turn,” he said on condition of anonymity, citing the “sensitivity” of the issue. Also in June last year the house passed But another lawmaker said the people who drafted the law had come under huge pressure from the tobacco industry. “So its final text was not as strong as expected,” he said, also declining to be named. ‘Doesn’t make sense’ At the HCMC conference on August 29, Mark Gillin, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in By the time the change took effect in May the government had in fact solicited feedback from foreign business groups for three years. Most of them had wanted it kept at four months. “The maternity leave provision is not likely to determine an investment decision. [But] businesses feel comfortable investing in places where policies make sense and this one doesn’t,” Gillin told Vietweek. The United Nations saw it differently, saying the law “will…promote breastfeeding and better safeguard the wellbeing of mothers and children” in UNICEF has warned of a major decline in breastfeeding rates across East Asia, with the rate of Vietnamese mothers exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months declining to less than 20 percent last year. According to the General Nutrition Survey, one in every three children in Many Vietnamese mothers blame their failure to exclusively breastfeed babies on inadequate maternity leave, saying the need to get back to work forces them to wean their babies early. UNICEF says there is clear evidence that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life not only improves their future growth and educational achievements, but also significantly reduces national health costs and helps prevent chronic malnutrition. “Six months’ maternity leave is very progressive - far more than what we get in the “I do not disagree with [the] central premise that economic development does lead to better child's health overall, but growth has to be sustainable and cannot come at short-term public health costs,” he said. Legitimate concerns, but whose? But the analysts also say what “ At the HCMC conference, Nicola Connolly, deputy chairwoman of the European Chamber of Commerce in She said besides the human resources shortage that bedevils both foreign and local companies, “with the added burden of additional government insurances, trade union fee, and increase in the minimum wage, investors add up all these costs and compare with other countries such as “To invest in Other foreign executives had more complaints. One said businesses were hit this year when the minimum wage was raised. He also slammed new environmental regulations for forcing foreign investors to call off new projects or scale back operations. Another warned that one more wage hike that is proposed next year could perhaps have the greatest impact on The The federation expects that to increase next year to VND2.435-4.113 million, and has put two alternative proposals to the National Wage Council – hike the minimum wage by either 24-36 percent or by 21-32 percent. The minimum wage is now VND1.65-2.35 million (US$78-111.13) a month, depending on the location. But the average cost of living is estimated to be VND1.928 million for individuals and VND3.278 million for those with children, according to data compiled by the federation. At the conference, the foreign executives also said new restrictions on overtime are another major concern. A recent change to the Labor Code reduces the maximum number of hours a worker can do overtime in a year from 400 to 200 – 300. Foreign investors have demanded that this be increased to 800. Robert Weissman, president of the Washington-based consumer advocacy nonprofit group Public Citizen, dismisses such claims, saying: “Foreign companies will always argue that more protections for workers, families, or the environment unfairly harm them and threaten to push them to locate investment elsewhere.” “ At the end of the day, analysts say the corporate sector does not need the Vietnamese government to protect it. But the other hand, many studies have shown that grassroots people are always ignored in the consultation processes for major projects that take away their lands or damage their environment. “A lot of preferential polices we roll out for foreign investors have not helped the country or the people much,” Thuyet, the ex-lawmaker, says. “All corporations try to have laws in their favor, including Vietnamese companies. It is the lawmakers that need to take stock of any laws they are going to vote on.” Experts warn that Vietnam’s laws could face even more challenges if it becomes a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious free trade agreement also involving the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. “As constructed, the TPP would be a corporate rights agreement,” Weissman says. “It would also empower foreign companies to directly sue the Vietnamese government before international arbitration panels with no accountability to the Vietnamese people on the grounds that Vietnamese law unfairly interferes with the companies’ expected future profits.” By An Dien, Thanh Nien News |
↧
Article 1
↧