Madam, if you choose the 3 most prominent highlights of the Da Nang Trade Union in 2025 and the first half of 2026, which activities would you choose?
- The first highlight is representing and protecting workers' rights, a core function that we put first. In 2025, the City Trade Union supported 58 workers at Hoa Khanh Da Nang Textile Joint Stock Company to file judgment enforcement documents and complete the payment of benefits with the amount of 1.8 billion VND; represented lawsuits for 161 workers at Minh Hoang 2 Garment Co., Ltd. for late payment of social insurance of 10.4 billion VND and other policies with the amount of 600 million VND; represented the protection of workers' rights at Hoang Viet Quan Co., Ltd.; participated in investigating 4 labor accidents and organized direct and online legal advice for more than 1,500 workers.
Stepping into the first quarter of 2026, we will continue to coordinate in resolving labor disputes, wage arrears, and social insurance debts. In particular, recently we organized a meeting and contact conference between National Assembly deputies, Chairmen of the City People's Committee, and Chairmen of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor with workers and laborers. At the conference, 24 union members directly asked questions and were thoroughly answered by leaders about regimes, policies, and rights.
The second highlight is taking care of the material and spiritual life of union members and workers - a policy that has become a unique brand of the Da Nang Trade Union. In 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, the City Labor Federation spent nearly 130 billion VND through programs bearing typical imprints: "Tet Sum vay", "Trade Union Tet Market", "Trade Union Shelter", "Trade Union Bus", "Trade Union Train", "Trade Union Meal", supporting the historic flood in October 2025... These figures speak for themselves, showing all the activities of the Trade Union organization to care for union members and workers who are still facing difficulties.
The third highlight is building a strong Trade Union organization in both breadth and depth. In 2025, Da Nang Trade Union established 112 new grassroots trade unions, admitting 50,017 union members; in the first quarter of 2026, it developed 31 more grassroots trade unions, with 1,366 union members. After the merger, Da Nang City Labor Federation focused on consolidating the organization and apparatus and establishing new trade unions in 28 communes and wards, arranging 58 full-time trade union officials in communes and wards, basically ensuring conditions for managing and guiding grassroots trade union activities. To date, the whole city has 1,767 grassroots trade unions with more than 216,700 union members.
Madam, please tell us the direction of activities of the Da Nang City Trade Union in the coming time?
- The activities of the Da Nang Trade Union organization in the coming time revolve around three pillars. The first pillar is to continue to expand the organization, prioritize developing union members and establishing grassroots trade unions in enterprises outside the state sector, informal labor - where workers' rights are most vulnerable.
The second pillar is to improve the quality of collective labor agreements, strengthen substantive negotiation. The content of the agreement focuses on many clauses that are more beneficial to workers than the provisions of law such as salary, bonuses, allowances, working hours, rest, meals, housing support, health care...
The third pillar is to maintain and expand models of care that have made their mark, have become brands of Da Nang, and at the same time promote digital transformation in trade union activities to better manage and care for union members and workers.
As an official delegate of the Da Nang Trade Union to attend the upcoming 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, what are your expectations for the Congress?
- I expect this Congress to open a period of stronger innovation for the Trade Union organization, especially in the context of life, jobs and labor relations changing very rapidly under the impact of integration, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and the requirement to develop high-quality human resources.
I hope the congress will have more practical solutions so that the emulation movement truly becomes a driving force to help union members improve their skills, promote initiatives, apply new technologies, thereby increasing labor productivity and improving income.
At the same time, there needs to be a mechanism to encourage businesses to link emulation results with salaries, bonuses, and benefits so that employees can clearly see the commendable recognition for their efforts and contributions.
Currently, when businesses violate, the Trade Union can represent and sue, but the process is still long, procedures are still difficult, and the results are not certain. The Congress needs to send recommendations to the Party and State to amend and supplement legal regulations in the direction of assigning the Trade Union more sharp legal tools, sufficiently deterrent and sufficiently effective to protect officials, union members, and workers.
It is expected that after the congress, there will be more policies to support vocational retraining for workers affected by automation and artificial intelligence. This is a real pressure, not a distant future. Trade unions also need to be given more resources to accompany union members and workers in this transformation, rather than letting workers face major changes alone.
Workers need specific and practical activities, not just stopping at movements, slogans or forms. I hope the congress will build specific programs on supporting housing, kindergartens, and cultural institutions for them. Then there will be direct working sessions between leaders of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and leaders of local Party committees to receive consensus and jointly allocate capital, mechanisms, and land to build trade union institutions for workers in the shortest time.
Finally, I expect the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress to issue policies that after 5 years of looking back, each trade union member and worker will feel that their lives are better, their rights are more firmly protected, and the Trade Union organization deserves to be their reliable support.
Thank you, madam!
