Union staff shortage
Quang Nam Provincial Trade Union currently has 18 district-level Trade Unions and 5 industry-level Trade Unions, with 1,848 grassroots Trade Unions and more than 136,000 union members; ranked 1st in terms of grassroots Trade Union scale and number of union members.
At the provincial level, the Quang Nam Trade Union only has 28 positions, so it has to contract 40 more workers. For the 23 district-level and equivalent trade unions, there are only 1.9 positions/unit, not enough to structure the positions of president and vice president.
Making a recommendation to the National Assembly delegates at a recent voter meeting, Mr. Tran Phuoc Phuong - Chairman of the Duy Xuyen District Trade Union - said that in the context of the continuous increase in the number of union members, the number of union officials assigned is not commensurate with the requirements of the tasks; leading to the Union being unable to fully and promptly implement its functions and tasks, especially activities to care for and protect the rights of workers.
"I propose that the National Assembly consider a solution to stipulate a suitable payroll management mechanism in the Trade Union Law (amended), increasing the initiative of the Union in arranging the union staff, meeting the requirements of the tasks in the new situation" - Mr. Phuong suggested.
This is also the general situation nationwide, when local trade unions are assigned 5,119 positions by provincial and municipal party committees, only one-third of other socio-political organizations; up to 12 provinces and cities do not assign positions to trade union organizations; 40 provinces and cities assign disproportionate trade union staff positions, not enough to do the work - according to data from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, as of the end of March 2024.
According to Mr. Phan Xuan Quang - Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial Trade Union, on average, nationwide, a full-time trade union officer manages more than 1,000 union members. But in Quang Nam, each trade union position manages about 2,900 union members, with some units such as Dien Ban town and Tam Ky city managing over 4,000 union members each position.
The number of assigned positions is already low, and the trend is decreasing. According to the roadmap for streamlining the position in the period from 2022 to 2026, the number of positions of the provincial Trade Union will continue to decrease from 74 to 70.
Many problems arise
Mr. Truong Dac Hung - Chairman of Dien Ban Town Trade Union - pointed out the reality of the problem, when the lower-level trade union staff is lacking and not specialized, causing many difficulties in activities.
“Dien Ban has 11 industrial clusters with tens of thousands of units and workers. The operating budget of the district-level trade union is tens of billions of dong per year. If we use part-time accountants who are not knowledgeable in the field, we will not be able to ensure strict management and ineffective use of trade union funds,” said Mr. Hung.
Mr. Phan Duong Nhut - Vice Chairman of Tam Ky City Trade Union - said that trade union activities are highly specific, so it is necessary to have a team of trade union cadres with practical experience at the grassroots level. However, currently, trade union cadres are recruited as civil servants of state agencies, leading to difficulties in attracting, training and fostering a team of trade union cadres who have grown up from the grassroots level and the workers' movement. A bonus point of 1.5 on a 100-point scale is still too low for trade union cadres who have grown up from the grassroots level.
There are even cases where union officials are often transferred from management positions, leaders of other agencies and localities before retirement. This does not ensure the expertise to perform the role of a union official. "I propose that the National Assembly consider removing obstacles in the recruitment policy of union officials, in order to attract a team of union officials with a lot of experience, matured from the grassroots level" - Mr. Nhut hoped.
According to Mr. Phan Xuan Quang - Chairman of Quang Nam Trade Union, trade union funds are an important source of revenue for trade unions to perform their duties of representing, caring for and protecting union members and workers. Currently, the trade union fund debt in Quang Nam has reached more than 100 billion VND, greatly affecting the activities of caring for union members and workers. In the context of the State budget's difficulties and for trade unions to be proactive and independent in their activities, it is proposed that the National Assembly continue to stipulate a revenue source of 2% of trade union funds in the Trade Union Law (amended). At the same time, it is necessary to stipulate strict sanctions for enterprises that deliberately do not pay or pay incorrectly the trade union fund.
