Are employers required to sign collective bargaining agreements in Vietnam?

Are employers required to sign collective bargaining agreements in Vietnam?

In Article 75 of the Labor Code 2019 stipulates collective bargaining agreements, according to which:

1. A collective bargaining agreement means an agreement that is reached through a collective bargaining and concluded in writing by the parties.

Collective bargaining agreements include enterprise-level collective bargaining agreements, sectoral collective bargaining agreements, multi-enterprise collective bargaining agreements and other types of collective bargaining agreements.

2. The contents of a collective bargaining agreement must not be contrary to the law, and should provide for the terms and conditions that are more favorable to the employees than those provided by law.

According to Article 6 of the Labor Code 2019 stipulating rights and obligations of employers

1. An employer has the rights to:

a) recruit, arrange and manage and supervise employees; give commendation and take actions against violations of internal labor regulations;

b) establish, join and operate in employer representative organization, occupational associations and other organizations in accordance with law;

c) request the representative organization of employees to negotiate the conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement; participate in settlement of labor disputes and strikes; discuss with the representative organization of employees about issues related to labor relations and improvement of the material and spiritual lives of employees;

d) temporarily close the workplace;

dd) exercise other rights prescribed by law.

2. An employer has the obligations to:

a) implement the employment contracts, collective bargaining agreement and other lawful agreements with employees; respect the honor and dignity of employees;

b) establish a mechanism for and hold dialogue with the employees and the representative organization of employees; implement the regulations on grassroots-level democracy;

c) Provide basic training and advanced training in order to help employees improve their professional skills or change their occupations;

d) implement regulations of laws on labor, employments, vocational education, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational safety and health; develop and implement solutions against sexual harassment in the workplace;

dd) Participate in development of the national occupational standards, assessment and recognition of employees’ professional skills.

According to this Article, signing collective bargaining agreements is one of the rights of employers in Vietnam. However, once a collective labor agreement is signed, there is an obligation to perform. Thus, the signing of a collective bargaining agreement is not mandatory for the employer.

What are survey and conclusion of collective bargaining agreements in Vietnam?

According to Article 76 of the 2019 Labor Code, survey and conclusion of collective bargaining agreements are as follows:

1. Before an enterprise-level collective bargaining agreement is concluded, its draft must be made available for comment by all employees of the enterprise. An enterprise-level collective bargaining agreement shall only be concluded if it is voted for by more than 50% of the enterprise’s employees.

2. A sectoral collective bargaining agreement shall be available for comment by all members of the management boards of the representative organizations of employees of the enterprises participating in the bargaining. A sectoral collective bargaining agreement shall only be concluded if it is voted for by more than 50% of the voters.

A multi-enterprise collective bargaining agreement shall be available for comment by all employees of the enterprises participating in the bargaining or members of management boards of the representative organizations of employees thereof. Only an enterprise more than 50% of employees of which vote for the multi-enterprise collective bargaining agreement may participate in its conclusion.

3. The time and location for casting votes on a draft collective bargaining agreement shall be decided by the representative organization of employees as long as it does not affect the participating enterprises’ normal business operation. The employers must not obstruct or interfere with process of voting on the draft agreement by the representative organizations of employees.

4. A collective bargaining agreement shall be concluded by legal representatives of the parties.

In case a multi-enterprise collective bargaining agreement is negotiated via a collective bargaining council, it shall be concluded by the chairperson of the council and legal representatives of the parties.

5. A copy of the collective bargaining agreement shall be sent to every party and the provincial labor authority in accordance with Article 77 of this Labor Code.

In case of a sectoral or multi-enterprise collective bargaining agreement, each employer and representative organization of employees of the participating enterprises shall receive 01 copy.

6. After a collective bargaining agreement is concluded, the employer must make publicly available to their employees.

7. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

What are effective date and effective period of collective bargaining agreements in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 78 of the Labor Code 2019 stipulates effective date and effective period of collective bargaining agreements, specifically as follows:

1. The effective date of a collective bargaining agreement shall be agreed upon by the parties and specified in the agreement itself. In case the parties do not agree upon an effective date, the collective bargaining agreement shall be effective on its conclusion date.

An effective collective bargaining agreement shall be upheld by the parties.

2. An enterprise-level effective collective bargaining agreement shall be binding on the employer and all employees of the enterprise. An effective sectoral or multi-level collective bargaining agreement shall be binding on all employers and employees of the participating enterprises.

3. The effective period of a collective bargaining agreement shall 01 – 03 years. The specific effective period shall be agreed upon by the parties and specified in the collective bargaining agreement. The parties may agree upon various effective periods for different parts of a collective bargaining agreement.

Best Regards!