Joining hands to build a fair working environment
On the afternoon of July 10, in Da Nang, the City Labor Federation in coordination with two French non-governmental organizations, BATIK International Association and Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET), organized a workshop to launch the "New Dream" (MUM) project.
The project was approved by the Da Nang City People's Committee to be received and implemented from April 2026 to the end of March 2028 at enterprises in industrial parks in the city.
The overarching goal of the project is to improve working conditions, reduce gender inequality, improve welfare and access to quality public services and health services for female workers.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh - Vice President of the Da Nang City Labor Federation - said that the workforce in industrial parks is mostly young workers, including many female workers and migrant workers. They are the force that directly creates value for the city's development, but are also facing many difficulties.
According to Ms. Anh, many female workers are still under low income pressure, have to work overtime for a long time, the burden of taking care of their families, while access to reproductive health, mental health care services or standard working conditions in some businesses is still limited.
Along with that is the risk of sexual harassment, gender-based violence and new challenges arising in the working environment in the digital transformation era.
We want to build a better, safer and more equal working environment for workers through close cooperation with businesses. The project will contribute to reducing gender inequality, improving the self-protection capacity of workers and strengthening the internal support capacity of businesses themselves," Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh emphasized.
Investing in workers is also investing in businesses
Representative of BATIK International in Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang, said that although Vietnam has made many progress in perfecting gender equality policies, the gap between legal regulations and practice still exists, especially for female workers in industrial parks.
According to Ms. Hang, many female workers still have to work at high intensity to ensure income, while bearing most of the responsibility of taking care of their families. This makes them have fewer opportunities to study, improve skills and develop their careers. Access to health care services, especially reproductive health and mental health, is also not really convenient in many places.
In addition, the digital transformation process and the 4.0 Industrial Revolution are posing new requirements for skills and adaptability. Without appropriate support programs, the gap in development opportunities between labor groups may continue to widen.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang, these issues not only affect workers but also directly affect businesses through labor productivity, human resource retention capacity and meeting sustainable development standards in the global supply chain.
The project not only supports workers but also accompanies businesses in building a better working environment. When workers work in a safe, respected environment and have equal development opportunities, businesses also have an additional foundation for sustainable development and improved competitiveness," Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang shared.
At the workshop, representatives of the Da Nang City Labor Federation, BATIK International and GRET signed a cooperation agreement to implement the project in the spirit of equality, transparency and compliance with legal regulations.
With a total aid capital of more than 133,000 EUR, equivalent to over 3.7 billion VND, the "New Dream" Project is expected to create substantial changes in the work of caring for female workers in Da Nang industrial parks.
