Trade unions look to build strong force, working to protect labourers’ rights

Huỳnh Thanh Xuân, vice chairman of Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour. Photo tuyengiao.vn

Huỳnh Thanh Xuân, vice chairman of Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour, speaks to Vietnam News Agency about the outstanding performance and future tasks of Việt Nam’s trade unions on the threshold of the 13th National Congress of the Việt Nam Trade Union.

Could you share about the outstanding performance achieved by Việt Nam’s trade unions during the 2018-23 tenure?

In the 2018-23 term, trade unions at all levels, especially the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour, have proactively innovated and improved the quality of policy and law building related to workers and trade union activities.

The trade unions also proposed many recommendations on legislation to better care for and protect the rights of workers.

Trade unions have an increasingly strong and effective voice in councils, committees, steering committees and elected mechanisms to protect workers’ rights. In particular, the unions have demonstrated their role as a representative of workers in the National Wage Council.

In the past five years, the trade unions proposed raising the minimum wage by 25.34 per cent, helping improve the lives of union members and workers, narrowing the gap between minimum wage and minimum living standard.

Models of caring union members and workers continue to be carried out, bearing the mark of the Trade Union organisation such as “Lunar New Year Reunion” and “Worker’s Month”.

The “Lunar New Year Reunion” programme supported more than 30 million union members and workers in the past five years with financial assistance worth nearly VNĐ28 trillion.

The “Trade Union Shelter” programme helped nearly 14,000 workers build and repair houses with total support mounting more than VNĐ500 billion.

The “Union member benefits” programme continues to be expanded and periodically reviewed with new partners and incentives added.

The trade unions have visited and supported union members and workers living under difficult circumstances, those with dangerous diseases, labour accidents or occupational diseases, with assistance of over VNĐ3.6 trillion in total.

The trade unions at all levels have also focused on expanding membership networks.

In the past five years, more than 4.46 million new union members have been admitted with 24,320 grassroots union chapters established.

As of June 2023, the whole country has recorded nearly 11.1 million union members and 123,129 grassroots trade union chapters, an increase of more than one million union members and a decrease of 3,000 grassroots trade unions compared to the beginning of the 2018-23 term).

Since 2018, grassroots trade union chapters have introduced more than 700,000 outstanding union members, exceeding the targets. The number of excellent union members admitted to the Communist Party of Việt Nam is nearly 400,000, an increase of 1.4 times compared to the previous term.

Among those, 11 per cent are from non-State units.

The trade unions have rearranged and streamlined apparatus and conducted training on all-level trade union officials.

During the term, more than 4,000 trade union officials have been trained. More than 2.2 million trade union officials, 75 per cent of whom are from grassroots levels, were trained with professional theories of trade union work.

​Labourers nationwide have to cope with lots of challenges due to the impacts of COVID-19. How have trade unions accompanied labourers in overcoming those difficulties?

At the peak of the pandemic which enormously affected the jobs, health, and lives of union members and workers, following directions of the Party, National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister, the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour instructed trade unions at all levels to take appropriate measures.

The Confederation launched five large-scale support packages for union members and workers affected by the pandemic and provided nutrition and equipment for frontline medical forces and laborers in quarantine.

We donated savings books worth VNĐ 6 trillion in total to more than 10 million children of union members who lost parents due to COVID-19.

Trade unions at localities, units and businesses are important and active members of the pandemic prevention and control steering committees at grassroots levels, especially in areas with large numbers of workers.

Trade union members encouraged fellow members and workers to strictly comply with pandemic protocols, take preventive measures at the workplace, and make efforts to overcome difficulties to ensure safe production.

Trade unions at all levels provided support worth over VNĐ114 billion for nearly 82,000 union members and labourers who had working time reduced or contracts ended, with a total support amount of more than 114 billion.

More than 90,000 other union members and labourers will continue to benefit from the support with a total estimated amount of about VNĐ145 billion.

Many creative preventive and control pandemic models were initiated by trade union members and are highly appreciated by authorities and employers, showing the role of trade unions accompanying union members and workers, sharing with businesses to overcome difficulties.

Some outstanding initiatives are “COVID-19 Safety Team”, “Enterprise Green Zone”, cars transporting workers, zero đồng supermarkets, and food delivery to the doorstep.

Could you share the primary goals of the trade unions in the 2023-28 tenure?

In the next term, the Việt Nam Trade Union looks to further innovate trade union organisation and activities, build a comprehensively strong union, focusing on well performing functions and tasks, and meeting requirements of the new situation.

We put the focus on representing, caring for, and protecting the legal and legitimate rights and interests of union members and workers.

We also aim to attract and gather a large number of workers to join the union, and build a team of union officials with intelligence, bravery, enthusiasm, responsibility, prestige and good working methods.

Trade union activities in the next term will continue to focus strongly on the grassroots, take the grassroots trade unions as the main area of operation, and take the needs and interests of union members and workers as a basis for developing programmes and activity plans.

At the same time, we will continue to expand the union membership network and the establishment of grassroots trade unions, striving to have 15 million trade union members nationwide by the end of the term, establishing grassroots trade unions at 100 per cent of enterprises that have at least 25 employees each. VNS

Collective dialogue and negotiation key tasks to attract trade union membersHÀ NỘI – The 13th National Congress of the Việt Nam Trade Union for the 2023-28 tenure is scheduled to discuss breakthrough stages, including promoting collective dialogue and negotiation with focus on wages, bonuses, working hours, rest hours, and occupational safety and hygiene, said Ngọ Duy Hiểu, vice chairman of Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL).According to the VGCL’s Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, workers’ income is higher than the regional minimum wage but still does not meet their spending and child care needs.Lê Đình Quảng, deputy head of the VGCL’s Policy and Law Department, said it is necessary to adjust the regional minimum wage. The union proposed the regional minimum wage in 2024 rise 5-6 per cent to offset the price inflation index and to maintain wages for workers.“Among the factors to consider when adjusting the minimum wage, the payment ability of the businesses is important,” he said.“We must consider adjusting the regional minimum wage in a harmonious way that both motivates workers, increases productivity and is consistent with the payment ability of businesses,” he said.Sharing another perspective, Hoàng Quang Phòng, vice chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and vice chairman of the National Wage Council, said that in the current context of many businesses facing difficulties and struggling to maintain jobs, making the wage adjustment right now is not possible. This work requires a long roadmap in the near future.Most workers expect a salary increase early next year. But how much it should be increased will be discussed during the negotiation process in the spirit of goodwill and sharing, he said.Nguyễn Thị Như Ý, chairwoman of Đồng Nai Provincial Labour Confederation, said the local trade union always enhances its role in dialogue, negotiation and signing of collective labour agreements, while understanding workers’ aspirations.She said when collective labour disputes and strikes occur, grassroots trade unions at all levels will coordinate with local authorities to support businesses through dialogues and law dissemination to seek solutions to stabilise labour relations. Thanks to those efforts, many collective strikes have been solved, and labourers returned to work without causing complicated situations.To improve the quality of collective bargaining, Dr. Nguyễn Đình Hòa from Tôn Đức Thắng University said trade unions need to have goodwill while bargaining. Trade unions need to consider dialogue and collective bargaining with employers as the most important and urgent task to attract and maintain the number of union members at work.He said trade unions at businesses need to be guided and trained annually or every six months on collective bargaining. VNS