Da Nang Trade Union stands side by side with 117 Hoa Khanh Textile workers to demand their rights

From doubt to belief

I remember the early days nearly 3 years ago, when raising the issue of suing businesses to claim rights, many people said that suing was also useless, businesses no longer had money, so what could they claim. I myself was also fluctuating, had no faith, so I did not apply. But when I saw that 58 brothers and sisters in the previous round were fully paid salaries, allowances and insurance with an amount of more than 3.2 billion VND, I understood that I was not alone. Today, when I came to apply for the second round of lawsuits, I completely believe that the Trade Union will continue to accompany us.

That is the sharing of Mr. Nghiem Thanh H - one of the 117 workers of Hoa Khanh Textile Joint Stock Company - when he came to the Da Nang City Labor Federation to be guided to complete the dossier to sue the enterprise to demand wages and severance allowances still owed with an amount of more than 50 million VND.

Also in this hall, workers of Hoa Khanh Textile Joint Stock Company, but compared to nearly 3 years ago, the psychology of workers has changed very much. If before, many workers were afraid of lengthy legal procedures, worried that suing would not bring results, now they are confident and proactively come to the Trade Union to ask for support.

That change began a few months ago, with after nearly 3 years of persistently pursuing the lawsuit, 58 workers of Hoa Khanh Textile Joint Stock Company have been fully paid more than 3.2 billion VND, including salary, social insurance and related benefits.

That success becomes the most convincing proof that the rights of workers can be completely protected if there is the companionship of the Trade Union organization and persistent pursuit to the end.

Accompany until rights are protected

In the second dossier guidance session, each set of dossiers was carefully reviewed, each missing document was guided to supplement, and each legal obstacle was explained specifically. Directly supporting workers was Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Oanh - Deputy Head of the Trade Union Committee of Industrial Parks and full-time trade union officials.

According to Ms. Oanh, supporting workers does not only stop at guiding the completion of dossiers. It is also a process of accompanying from the time of receiving the case, guiding mediation, preparing documents, participating in proceedings and continuing to support judgment enforcement if necessary.

“Protecting the legitimate rights of workers is the core function of the Trade Union organization. No matter how long or complicated the case is, we will still accompany workers until their rights are guaranteed according to legal regulations” - Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Oanh affirmed.

Mr. Le Van Dai - Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang City Labor Federation - said that what makes the team of trade union officials most touched is the fact that more and more workers actively come to the Trade Union when their rights are violated.

According to Mr. Dai, in the early days, many workers were still skeptical about the success of the lawsuit. The Standing Committee of the City Labor Federation has repeatedly directly dialogued, explained legal regulations, and encouraged workers to persistently pursue the case.

When the judgment is enforced and rights are guaranteed, the trust of workers is also strengthened. That is the motivation for us to continue to accompany other cases" - Mr. Dai shared.