Recently, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor issued Guidance 284/HD-TLD on implementing the 2017 theme "Year for the Benefit of Trade Union Members". In this document, there are many activities aimed at taking care of the benefits for trade union members, offering practical benefits, and creating a marked difference compared to workers who are not trade union members and those who are trade union members.
Article table of contents
Taking Care of Material Benefits for Union Members
Taking care of the material benefits for union members through:
- Participating in the formulation of legal policies: Paying attention to proposing regulations that are more favorable to workers who are union members. Focusing on proposing policies regarding wages, bonuses, social insurance policies, health insurance, unemployment insurance; training policies, improving professional and occupational skills for workers.- Negotiating and signing collective labor agreements: Proactively proposing and negotiating to include terms in the collective labor agreement that are more favorable to workers compared to the labor law regulations, including terms that prioritize union members over non-union workers. Only sign the collective labor agreement when negotiations achieve terms more beneficial than current labor laws for the unit's workers.- Dialogue, building, and implementing grassroots democracy regulations:- Proactively propose employers to organize dialogues; listen to the aspirations of union members to prepare dialogue content, prioritize dialogue topics and propose employers have emergency dialogues on urgent issues of members that need immediate resolution.- Responsibly participating in building the internal rules and regulations of the agency, enterprise unit, especially those directly related to the rights and benefits of union members and workers, such as: Labor regulations, Wage and bonus regulations; Emulation and reward regulations; Welfare fund usage regulations; Training enhancement regulations; Recruitment regulations, etc.- Implementing the “Welfare Program for Union Members”: proactively work with enterprises having other essential products and services in the locality, negotiate, and sign new cooperation agreements at their level (providing discount mechanisms for union members when purchasing products from the enterprises);- Existing facilities of the Union organization: Currently, the Vietnam Union has many tourist, cultural, sports, vocational training... facilities such as Hotels, Guesthouses, Cultural centers; Universities... Therefore, these facilities need regulations on preferences for union members higher than those who are not union members, specifically:- Hotels, Guesthouses to have discount policies for union members;- Universities, Secondary schools, Vocational training schools to build support programs for union members, or union members' children currently studying at the school.- Legal Advice Centers, Offices to provide free legal advice and litigation upon the requests of union members related to labor and Union fields.- Union kindergartens to research policies for early school openings and late school closings suitable for the working hours of union members at industrial zones, export processing zones. Have policies to reduce childcare costs for union members' children.- Union facilities under preparation and construction in the near future, such as housing, union kindergartens, union supermarkets, cultural and sports facilities, etc. are required to have regulations for union members to enjoy price advantages, usage rights, purchasing priority, and supply priority compared to those who are not union members.- Social and charitable activities of the Union: “Union's Shelter” housing program, job creation loans; supporting workers' children; visiting and assisting union members.
Taking Care of Spiritual Benefits, Political Rights for Union Members
- Spiritual benefits for union members: union members participate in cultural, physical, and sports activities; sightseeing, vacation, recreation, and entertainment activities. Priority is given to union members, their spouses, or children participating first; for the aforementioned spiritual activities requiring fees, the union should have mechanisms and policies for exemptions and reductions for union members. Union Cultural Centers prioritize union members in participating in activities at lower prices compared to non-union members.- Ensuring political rights for union members, especially creating conditions for members to have many opportunities and conditions for learning and improving political knowledge; the union proactively trains and introduces outstanding union members for the Communist Party's consideration for admission; the union should proactively propose party committees, employers to consider and appoint leadership and management positions to union members when there is a selection among different individuals including union members.- Creating conditions and opportunities for union members to participate in professional training classes, skill training; attracting union members to participate in union-organized emulation movements, especially the movement of skilled labor, creative labor, thereby opening up advancement opportunities for union members.
See the detailed content in Guide 284/HD-TLD issued on March 9, 2017.
