Temporary Work Suspension Due to Covid-19: Is Payment of Trade Union Fees Required?
According to Decision 1908/QD-TLD in 2016, union members in any of the following cases are exempt from paying union fees:
- Union members receiving Social Insurance benefits for one month or more are exempt from paying union fees during the time they are receiving the benefits;
- Union members who are unemployed, have no income, or are on unpaid leave for one month or more are exempt from paying union fees during that period.
=> Therefore, according to the above regulations, if a union member is unemployed, has no income for one month or more without salary, they are not required to pay union fees for that month.
And according to Article 98 of the 2012 Labor Code, in the event of work stoppage, the employee shall be paid as follows:
If the stoppage is due to the fault of the employer, the employee must be paid in full;
If the stoppage is due to the fault of the employee, they will not be paid; other employees in the same unit who have to stop work will be paid as agreed by both parties, but not lower than the regional minimum wage stipulated by the Government of Vietnam;
If the stoppage is due to issues with electricity, water not caused by the employer's fault, the employee's fault, or other objective reasons such as natural disasters, fire, epidemic, enemy sabotage, relocation of operating sites as requested by competent state authorities, or for economic reasons, the stoppage wages are determined by both parties but not lower than the regional minimum wage stipulated by the Government of Vietnam.
=> Based on the above regulations, employees who must temporarily stop work due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are still entitled to the regional minimum wage. However, some companies only allow work stoppage during the social distancing period, and employees resume work as usual after this period. In such cases, union fees still need to be paid because the conditions for exemption from paying union fees are not met.
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