HANOI, Vietnam (AP) " Vietnam's National Assembly has back tracked on a controversial social insurance law that sparked massive protests earlier this year.
The lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a resolution allowing laborers to receive a one-time payment when they resigned instead of getting a monthly allowance when they retire, the government said on its website late Monday.
Last year, the Communist Party-dominated assembly passed a social insurance law that requires laborers to wait until their retirement age " 60 for men and 55 for women " to get the allowance, saying the government wants the workers to have a stable life after their retirement. That law would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2016.
In March, tens of thousands of workers at a major footwear factory in southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City went on a week-long strike to protest the law. They said they preferred the lump sum to help pay for their daily needs while seeking new jobs.
The stoppage at the Taiwanese-owned factory producing shoes for Nike and Adidas was a rare challenge to communist authorities over policy issues, although strikes over low pay and poor working conditions are common.
The protests, largely peaceful, ended after the government assured the workers that they would ask the National Assembly to amend the law to allow laborers to get their retirement payouts at one time or when they retire.
About 500,000 people apply for a lump sum payment each year when they have resigned in recent years, according to government figures.
Nearly 70 percent of Vietnam's population more than 90 million people are under 40 years of age, providing a major workforce for multi-national companies.
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