Increasing wages, ensuring stable jobs for workers
From the reality in Bac Ninh, a locality with many industrial parks and high annual economic growth rates, in an exchange with reporters, Mr. Thach Van Chung - Chairman of the Bac Ninh Provincial Labor Federation said that he realizes that there are still many issues that need to be further strongly concerned about in the coming time.
First of all, it is the issue of housing, cultural institutions and living conditions for workers. Currently, access to social housing for workers is still facing many difficulties such as strict conditions and criteria for considering beneficiaries, complicated evidentiary procedures; the income of many workers is still low, and the ability to accumulate is limited, so buying or renting out social housing is still a financial burden for union members and workers.
Meanwhile, most worker dormitories are spontaneous, of uneven quality, many rooms are small and cramped, living conditions are lacking; with a large density of dormitories in a residential area, it has put pressure on the technical infrastructure system, leading to environmental sanitation not being guaranteed, not enough cultural, sports, and entertainment facilities for workers after stressful working hours at enterprises.
The second is the issue of income, employment and living standards of workers in the context that businesses are still facing difficulties. A part of workers still face great pressure on living expenses, rent, childcare, and health care. Therefore, increasing wages, ensuring stable jobs, improving the quality of meals, social welfare and the working environment need to continue to be paid more attention to by levels, sectors and businesses.
Third, the compliance with labor safety and hygiene laws in some enterprises is not strict; labor accidents, especially in high-risk industries such as construction, mining, mechanics... still occur. Inspection and examination work in some places is not regular; training, risk assessment and risk factors control in the workplace are still formalistic in a part of enterprises. In addition, the informal labor sector and small-scale production facilities still face many difficulties in accessing and fully implementing regulations on labor safety and hygiene.
Fourth, in the context of digital transformation, green transformation and increasingly deep international integration, it poses an urgent requirement to strongly innovate vocational training, strengthen linkages between the State - schools - businesses, and at the same time promote training programs, retraining, and improving digital skills and vocational skills for workers, in order to meet the requirements of digital transformation and develop electronics and semiconductor industries in the coming period.
Creating more mechanisms, resources and motivation for trade union organizations
Mr. Thach Van Chung expressed his expectation that the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress will create a strong and comprehensive shift in the organization and activities of trade unions to meet the requirements of the new development stage of the country, especially in the context of digital transformation, deep international integration and rapid changes in the labor market.
We hope that the Congress will propose breakthrough policies and solutions to build a truly modern and professional Trade Union organization, with union members and workers at the center. The Congress will strongly promote digital transformation in the Trade Union system. This is an opportunity for the Trade Union to innovate operating methods, improve the efficiency of union member management, propaganda, dialogue, legal advice and provide care and welfare activities for workers more quickly and conveniently," Mr. Thach Van Chung shared.
In addition, he hoped that the congress would have many practical solutions to care for and protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of union members and workers in the new context, especially issues of sustainable employment, wages, housing, social security, labor safety and improving the quality of human resources.
Mr. Thach Van Chung added that for Bac Ninh province, an industrial province with a large number of workers, he especially expects the orientations of the Congress to create more mechanisms, resources and motivation for trade union levels in the province to strongly innovate, take better care of union members and workers, and build an increasingly strong Trade Union organization, determined to accompany the Party Committee and people to build Bac Ninh province into a centrally-run city before 2030, firmly stepping into the era of rich and strong, civilized development of the nation.
In the past term, trade union levels in Bac Ninh province have implemented many practical activities to care for union members and workers. The "Tet Sum vay" program became a prominent highlight with activities such as giving gifts, bus tickets, and organizing free buses to take workers home for Tet, with a total budget of over 20 billion VND. The "Board for Workers" program, the 0-dong booth, attracted more than 100,000 participants, with a benefit value of over 3 billion VND.
Trade union levels have visited and supported union members and workers with a total budget of nearly 600 billion VND; organized more than 2,200 "Trade Union Meals" worth over 38 billion VND. The "Trade Union Shelter" Fund supported building and repairing houses for 122 union members with a budget of over 4.7 billion VND, and at the same time supported loans of over 10.7 billion VND for workers in difficult circumstances.
In addition, the Provincial Labor Federation signed 99 union member welfare agreements, reducing prices from 5-50%, bringing benefits worth nearly 34 billion VND. These activities contribute to improving the lives of workers and creating a friendly and responsible investment environment in Bac Ninh.
