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National Assembly adopts revised Labor Code allowing independent unions
National Assembly adopts revised Labor Code allowing independent unions
20/11/19
The National Assembly
(NA) this morning voted on the amended labour code with changes to the national
holidays and labour practices, after months of heated
debate among workers, employers and experts.
A total of 435 deputies
voted in favour of the new law out of 453 present, translating to an approval
rating of 96.06 per cent. Nine voted against the law while nine abstained.
According to the new
amended labour code, workers will be entitled to another day off with full pay
the day following or preceding the Independence Day (September 2) holiday –
which so far has been observed as a one-day holiday.
According to Bùi Sỹ Lợi,
vice chair of the NA Committee on Social Affairs, the decision to extend the
Independence Day holiday instead of designating the Vietnamese Family Day (June
28) as a new holiday is meant to give workers more time to rest or spend with
their family if they work far from home.
Independence Day is also
a more meaningful and important occasion, Lợi said.
For this revision to the
Article 112 of the Labour Code, 452 deputies have voted in favour of it.
Allowing independent unions
The amended labour code
would also mark the first time where labourers in enterprises are allowed to
set up a representative organisation or join one of their own choosing that is
independent from the State-run Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL).
All of these labour
representative organisations are equal in rights and duties in representing the
legal rights and interests of the workers, the code said.
The representative
organisation, however, would only be considered legal when it obtained a licence
from a competent authority.
The move was part of
Việt Nam’s efforts to conform with labour standards set in various
new-generation free trade deals that it has signed, including the EU-Việt Nam
Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The head of
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Việt Nam Country Director
Chang-Hee Lee welcomed the move in a statement following the NA’s adoption of
the new Labour Code.
“Freedom of association
is a fundamental right under the ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work. It helps improve the collective bargaining
process that enables workers to get a fairer share of the profits and
enterprises to negotiate the productivity improvements necessary for them,” he
said.
ILO praised the new
revisions and the adoption of the labour code today, saying that the
ratification represents “significant progress”, as the ratification would
result in considerable improvements to Việt Nam’s employment and industrial
relations.
The organisation also said
that for now, the task of “elaborating the new provisions through the
preparation of implementing decrees and practical institutional preparation for
their application and implementation” must be prioritised in order to translate
the law into practice./.
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All comments [ 7 ]
This will help to protect workers' rights and boost their livelihoods!
The country always wants to maintain political stability and promote economic development—two goals that often conflict. This will help!
Regarding the normal working hours, the new labour code stipulates that the ‘normal’ working hours would not exceed eight hours a day or 48 hours a week, the same as in the previous code, pending further studies, despite calls from lawmakers for a reduction.
Vietnamese workers are now free to form their own independent unions!
Now no one, no hostile forces could blame Vietnam for not having union freedom and the country has attained international standard of independent unions.
Since the launch of the doi moi reforms, worker rights have made substantial progress. Vietnam rejoined the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1992 and since then the government, unions, and local groups have intensified their cooperation with the ILO and other international groups.
Vietnam has ratified 15 conventions, including three of the ILO's eight core human rights conventions.
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