Vietnam's labor minister rebuked by PM for negligence

PM Pham Minh Chinh signed the punishment decision on Tuesday, nearly a month after Dung received an official rebuke from the Communist Party's Politburo.

The Politburo said Dung, also a member of the Party Central Committee, had violated principles of democratic centralism.

Dung's "negligence in management" allowed the ministry and certain of its organizations and individuals to commit violations that threatened to cause huge losses to the state budget, and serious consequences that are hard to handle, the Party's decision-making body said.

Vietnam's Communist Party and government has four modes of punishment for misconduct by official members: reprimand, warning, demotion and expulsion.

Dung, 62, became the labor minister in April 2016.

Vietnam's Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Dung's predecessor Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, who had also been rebuked by the Politburo, received a warning from the PM.

Chuyen was blamed for poor management that created conditions forthe conduct of bidding packages by the notorious Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC) and businesses under its ecosystem.

Over the last two years, AIC has been investigated for bidding violations at several units and localities. AIC Group was among Vietnam's 500 largest enterprises in 2012, with annual revenues of around VND10 trillion (US$406.75 million). The company operates in various fields including healthcare, education and real estate.

AIC’s chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan was accused of several crimes, including bribery and bidding violations, but has been evading authorities and is internationally wanted.