Vietnam proposes new paid public holiday, annual holiday schedule deadline

The two proposals are among the key amendments to the Labor Code included in a draft law amending and supplementing several provisions of the Labor Code, the Law on Archives, the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Red Cross Activities and the Law on Employment.

Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Hai presented the draft to the National Assembly on Wednesday morning.

Under the draft, responsibility for announcing the annual schedule of public holidays would be transferred from the prime minister, as stipulated under current law, to the minister.

The announcement would have to be made by September 30 of the preceding year.

The draft also proposes transferring authority to stipulate the functions, duties and organizational structure of the National Wage Council, as well as to approve the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health, from the government to the prime minister.

Another notable provision is the designation of November 24 each year as Vietnam Culture Day, which would be a paid day off for employees.

According to the drafting agency, the proposal aims to institutionalize the Politburo’s Resolution No. 80 on the development of Vietnamese culture, translating the country’s cultural policy into labor legislation.

Presenting the appraisal report, Nguyen Dac Vinh, chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs, said the committee broadly supported the proposal to establish Vietnam Culture Day and grant employees a paid day off.

However, some opinions had called for consideration of adding July 27, Vietnam’s War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day, to the list of paid public holidays.

Vietnam’s current paid public holidays comprise New Year’s Day (one day), Lunar New Year (five days), Reunification Day (one day), International Workers’ Day (one day), National Day (two days), and Hung Kings Commemoration Day (one day).