INFLUENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON REDUCING THE INCOME OF WORKERS

In Vietnam, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy is also huge, the economy was severely affected with the gross domestic product (GDP) growth at the lowest level in a decade, and most important industries saw a decline in growth, employment, and growing income is seriously affected (Dat, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting many aspects of the economy and society;many enterprises, business households, and cooperatives had to suspend operations, reduce production scale or rotate production, directly affecting the income of employees. This article uses the employment survey data of the General Statistics Office in 2021 and uses labor law (National Assembly, 2019) to analyze the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on reducing the income of workers in Vietnam. The model estimation results show that the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on income reduction does not differ between male and female workers, and has a strong influence on the group without professional and technical qualifications. Based on the findings, several suggestions are proposed to improve workers' income in the context of COVID-19. © 2023 The Authors.

COVID-19 in Vietnam: Perception of Urban Workers and Compliance with the National Social Distancing Policies

Using an online survey with about 650 persons living in urban areas in Vietnam and working in different job positions, this chapter aimed to explore how they perceived various measures in containing COVID-19 and how they complied with and evaluated different government policies in controlling the pandemic. In particular, we disaggregated data of the urban workers into gender (male vs. female), job positions (wageearners vs. other), social insurance participation (mandatory, voluntary, and non-participating), and self-rated health (good vs. bad). We found that the respondents highly appreciated the government with the provided information of COVID-19 and the implemented policies to contain the pandemic. People showed quite good compliance with the national social distancing policies since they went out of their homes mostly for essential work, while very rarely for other reasons or nonessential work. We could see various differences in perceptions and compliance levels of the respondents in terms of age, gender, residential area, and health status. Based on those findings along with the existing studies, we recommended that appropriate measures stabilising social and economic activities within the country should be continuously implemented so as to maintain or alternate jobs for people working in severely affected economic sectors. Also, providing accessible and affordable healthcare measures to all people, especially for poor and informal workers who are particularly risky to infectious diseases, should also be given great consideration. Sufficient goods and services for people to meet their basic needs during social distancing should be continuously maintained. © 2022 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.