On October 21, authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Hai presented a report to the National Assembly on the draft Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Social Insurance. A centerpiece of the proposal mandates social insurance coverage for workers without formal labor contracts and individuals operating on digital platforms.
The Challenge of Social Insurance Coverage for Gig Workers
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), ongoing digital transformation and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) are fundamentally reshaping labor markets globally and within Vietnam. While these advancements generate employment avenues, they simultaneously introduce challenges regarding job quality and social welfare.
The proliferation of digital applications has propelled the “sharing economy” and the “gig economy.” Consequently, a sizable informal labor segment has emerged: platform and gig workers.
Comprising ride-hailing drivers, food delivery couriers, and online freelancers, this cohort is expanding swiftly across urban centers. ILO data indicates that in 2024, approximately 7.5 million people engaged in digital platform work in Vietnam, accounting for nearly 14% of the nation’s total workforce.
While platform business models unlock immediate earnings, they cultivate precarious working arrangements. The deliberate ambiguity between “employees” and “independent partners” frequently excludes ride-hailing drivers and delivery personnel from social safety nets and statutory labor protections.
Platform workers typically endure intense workloads, irregular working schedules, volatile incomes, and an absence of collective bargaining rights.
Furthermore, algorithmic systems deployed to monitor, evaluate, and discipline workers—such as automated account suspensions—exert acute strain on working conditions and privacy. Unilateral account deactivations triggered by algorithmic judgments highlight an absence of grievance mechanisms for gig workers.
Meanwhile, conventional social welfare frameworks struggle to accommodate non-standard employment arrangements. Platform personnel and digitally self-employed workers rarely meet criteria for mandatory social insurance schemes, yet they earn above thresholds for direct poverty assistance, straddling an unprotected policy void.
Investing in a Multi-Tiered, Adaptive Safety Net
The ILO underscores that Vietnam’s primary policy imperative involves formalizing platform employment through updated legal frameworks while establishing multi-tiered, technology-driven social security systems.
Ride-hailing motorbike drivers in Hanoi. Source: znews.vn
Currently, social insurance uptake among platform workers remains negligible, with most classified as informal labor. A World Bank survey covering nearly 5,000 digital platform workers in Vietnam revealed that over 90% consider platform tasks their primary income source, yet only one-fifth participate in social insurance programs.
André Gama, an ILO social security specialist for the Asia-Pacific region, emphasized that addressing decent work deficits requires closing systematic gaps in social protection.
ILO Convention No. 193 regarding decent work in the platform economy states that member nations must ensure digital platform workers access social protection on terms no less favorable than other employees under comparable working arrangements. “Mandatory participation expands insurance coverage, pools risks across diverse demographics, and ensures long-term fiscal sustainability,” Gama stated.
For tech drivers, Gama suggested initiating coverage with pension and survivor benefits before progressively incorporating additional schemes. Over the long term, Vietnam must clarify the contractual relationship between workers and digital platforms to allocate legal rights and liabilities properly.
Speaking at a recent symposium on the legal status of digital platform workers in Vietnam, Le Dinh Quang, former Deputy Head of the Labor Relations Department under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, highlighted several regulatory gaps. These shortcomings include the lack of a statutory definition for platform labor, unclear platform operator liabilities, deficient state registry data, and missing welfare mechanisms.
To resolve these deficits, Quang recommended integrating a dedicated chapter on platform workers into the revised Labor Code, establishing flexible social insurance mechanisms and strengthening worker protections.
Source: vneconomy.vn
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