Whether to include overseas Vietnamese as being eligible to work for the State or not was one of special issues discussed at the National Assembly sitting on October 26.
While debating the Law on Civil Servants, a number of deputies suggested Vietnamese currently working or living overseas should not be considered for civil service jobs, while others disagreed.
The NA Standing Committee said civil servants' activities have to be attached to the workings of their State offices, thus it is impossible for a State employee who lives abroad to work often in Vietnam.
According to the committee, many Vietnamese who are living abroad have dual nationality. If they become civil servants in Vietnam, the management and employment of them might be complicated and difficult.
If it is necessary to entice talented and experienced overseas Vietnamese, the draft should put overseas Vietnamese on contracts for research co-operation, experience and professional skills exchanges, technology transfer, or hired for a fixed term in accordance with current policies, said the committee.
Therefore, the committee wanted to revise the bill to include only people who have Vietnamese nationality and are living in Vietnam as being eligible to work for the State.
Many other deputies, however, voiced their viewpoints on supporting the inclusion of overseas Vietnamese in State employment.
Nguyen Ngoc Dao, a deputy from Hanoi, said if the bill regulates that overseas Vietnam have to “live in Vietnam” to become State employees, it will pose an obstacle to the efforts to draw talents from outside the country.
Mr. Dao said the geographical distance should not be made a factor to exclude overseas Vietnamese from being employed by the State as in the context of integration and globalization, overseas Vietnamese should be encouraged to work for their home country and be employed by their Government.
"Vietnam has a serious shortage of State employees, especially in the areas of science, technology and the arts. Any Vietnamese citizen should have the right to become a State employee, and therefore the Vietnamese people living abroad should be included," he added.
NA vice chairman Uong Chu Luu said the Law on House, Law on Land, and Law on Citizenship have been amended with the aim of providing favorable conditions to encourage talented Vietnamese people from all over the world to contribute to the country’s development.
He added there should not be regulations that discourage overseas Vietnamese to work in the State sector.
Deputies also suggested that State employees who have accumulated academic qualifications should be made to delay their retirement and work for a longer number of years.
In discussing the establishment of management councils for State-run companies, a majority of deputies agreed on the council's set-up, believing it would help improve inspection and control, while minimizing the arbitrary abuse of power by managers.
Later on the day, the NA discussed the amendment for the Law on Commercial Insurance, which was introduced in 2001.
The need for regulations related to the workings of Commercial Insurance Corporations was top of the discussions. They also considered the set-up of a fund to protect insured people's rights, regulations concerning insurance companies and insurance services across borders.
