Workers are not alone
Da Nang City Labor Federation manages 2,067 grassroots trade unions, grassroots trade unions with 236,024 union members. In industrial parks alone, there are 284 grassroots trade unions with 90,335 union members.
With a large force, present in most socio-economic fields, the City Trade Union identifies representing and protecting the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of union members and workers as a key and consistent task.
Ms. Phan Thi Thuy Linh - Chairwoman of the Da Nang City Labor Federation - said: in the past time, trade union levels have regularly grasped the situation of employment, wages, bonuses and labor relations, especially before, during and after the Lunar New Year.
Issues arising are proactively resolved by the Trade Union in coordination with functional agencies and employers, thereby limiting disputes and preventing the formation of hot spots in labor relations.
Legal advice and legal support are also becoming more and more substantive. Every year, more than 1,000 turns of union members and workers have dialogues and legal advice in direct and online forms.
Notably, the Trade Union represented 300 workers to sue three businesses owing wages and prolonged insurance benefits and won the lawsuit, helping workers regain more than 4 billion VND of benefits.
Currently, the Trade Union continues to represent 46 workers to sue businesses owing social insurance; coordinate to resolve petitions from 22 workers and guide nearly 200 people to carry out complaint procedures, mediation, and lawsuits related to salaries, social insurance and other legitimate rights.
These figures show that the representative role is not only reflected in documents or slogans, but is measured by the specific rights of workers being protected and restored.
Building consensus from dialogue and negotiation
According to Ms. Phan Thi Thuy Linh, the protection of workers' rights needs to be implemented early and remotely through participating in policy making, organizing dialogues and improving the quality of collective bargaining.
Every year, trade union levels in the city participate in contributing opinions on about 50 draft resolutions, projects, programs, and plans of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the National Assembly Delegation, the People's Council, the City People's Committee, and departments, agencies, and sectors. The Trade Union also coordinates to review and propose amendments and supplements to regulations, rules, and policies directly related to workers.
Along with dialogue, negotiation and signing of collective labor agreements are considered important tools to create more benefits for workers. To date, 86.9% of units and businesses have signed collective labor agreements, higher than the national average; 56% of agreements are scored and ranked B or higher.
Many agreements have better terms than the law regarding salaries, bonuses, meals, leave, visits and support for difficulties. These are specific benefits that help workers feel more clearly the value of joining and being attached to the Trade Union organization.
When workers are listened to, respected and protected, trust will be strengthened. When differences in interests are resolved through dialogue, negotiation and law, consensus will be strengthened.
Protecting workers is not just handling a case after their rights have been violated. More importantly, the Trade Union must proactively participate in policy making, detect early risks of disputes and create conditions for workers to dialogue and negotiate equally with employers," Ms. Phan Thi Thuy Linh emphasized.
