Proposal for workers to have the right to negotiate a fair salary

The above proposal was raised by Ms. Pham Thi Tuyet Nhung, Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Yazaki EDS Co., Ltd. (Binh Duong), at the forum "Focusing resources to promote dialogue, negotiation, and signing of collective labor agreements, especially on wages and working conditions", organized by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) on the afternoon of November 30, ahead of the 13th Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union.

Forum "Focusing resources to promote dialogue, negotiation, and signing of collective labor agreements, especially on wages and working conditions"

Signed 15,832 new enterprise collective labor agreements

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Ha, Head of the Labor Relations Department (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor), said that during the 2018-2023 term, the coordination in implementing grassroots democracy regulations and dialogue at the workplace has had positive changes, with 98.8% of state-owned enterprises and 64.93% of non-state enterprises organizing labor conferences and other forms of democracy as prescribed by law.

Notably, 99.07% of state-owned enterprises and 67.96% of non-state-owned enterprises with trade unions organize dialogue at the workplace.

Negotiation and signing of collective labor agreements, especially for non-state enterprises, are increasingly focused on. To date, 15,832 new collective labor agreements have been signed, reaching 72.12% (an increase of 6.47% compared to the beginning of the term). Of which, the rate of collective labor agreements reaching type B or higher is 48.2% (an increase of 19.6% compared to the beginning of the term); 22 collective labor agreements of groups of enterprises and 3 collective labor agreements of sectors have been signed, bringing benefits higher than the law to more than 7 million workers.

The above results have significantly contributed to building harmonious, stable and progressive labor relations in enterprises, maintaining stable jobs, wages, incomes, and ensuring working conditions.

In addition to the above results, according to Ms. Ha, the work of dialogue and negotiation of collective labor agreements still has shortcomings and limitations. "The rate of participation in implementing grassroots democracy regulations and organizing dialogue is still low, in many places it is still formal; the coverage of collective labor agreements is not wide, many agreements are of low quality. In particular, the number of participating units in the sector's collective labor agreements has decreased, and they have not been re-signed after their expiration. Agreements with many participating enterprises are still fragmented, with low expansion potential...", Ms. Ha said.

Unions need to play a clear role in the National Wages Council

From the reality of accompanying and sharing with workers, Ms. Pham Thi Tuyet Nhung, Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Yazaki EDS Co., Ltd. (Binh Duong), said that in order for dialogue and negotiation to become more practical and effective, the Government needs to have solutions for corporations, investors, partners, and foreign brands to promote compliance with international labor standards and workers' rights in the workplace in the global supply chain, including Vietnam, especially the issue of paying workers a living wage.

At the same time, Ms. Nhung also requested the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to guide and support businesses in negotiating to include salary content in collective labor agreements and classify and identify jobs and job groups so that workers have the right to negotiate a salary level commensurate with their efforts.

In the face of forecasts that in the coming term, there will be major changes in labor relations that pose many new issues and challenges to the Vietnam Trade Union. Many delegates assessed that dialogue and collective bargaining of trade unions are the core and continuous tasks in building harmonious and stable labor relations.

Mr. Duong Dai Loc, Vice President of the Tay Ninh Provincial Federation of Labor, recommended that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor focus on strengthening training and coaching on dialogue, negotiation and bargaining skills for union officials, especially chairmen of grassroots unions in the non-state sector, and equipping them with basic knowledge of labor and union laws, focusing on wages, bonuses, working hours, rest hours, and occupational safety and hygiene.

In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to training a team of specialized staff in charge of policy, law and labor relations with sufficient capacity to support trade union officials in dialogue and collective bargaining.

"The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor needs to continue to build a team of union officials at enterprises, especially grassroots union presidents who must have the capacity to rally the masses, closely connect with union members and workers; be knowledgeable about laws, regimes and policies related to workers; be enthusiastic and responsible for their work; have skills in activities, especially skills in dialogue and collective bargaining to thoroughly resolve issues arising in labor relations...", Mr. Loc expressed his opinion.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, Department of Labor Relations and Wages (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs), said that the number of collective labor agreement negotiations has increased. Up to now, the total number of agreements signed by the end of 2022 is 42,000 copies, covering more than 6.19 million workers. Labor dispute resolution institutions have been improved, better meeting the requirements of labor dispute resolution and supporting the development of labor relations in the new situation.

To promote dialogue and collective bargaining activities, the representative of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said that trade unions need to actively participate in tripartite dialogue mechanisms at all levels, while clearly demonstrating their role as organizations representing workers in the National Wage Council and the Labor Relations Committee; expanding coverage associated with improving the quality of collective labor agreements; focusing on wages, income, and improving working conditions.

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