Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Chairman of Hai Phong City Labor Federation said that after merging Hai Phong and Hai Duong, Hai Phong City Labor Federation manages 114 administrative units, about 3,000 grassroots trade unions with more than 640,000 union members.
To effectively manage this large resource, the Hai Phong City Labor Federation has tightened financial discipline right from the grassroots level. The Standing Committee of the City Labor Federation directed resolutely to implement the collection of union funds and membership fees through intermediary accounts and non-cash payments.
Up to now, almost 100% of the revenue from trade union funds and membership fees has been made through the bank account system. This is an important basis for transparentizing financial activities and serving finalization work," Mr. Tuan said.
According to Mr. Tuan, strict financial discipline not only helps manage resources effectively but also contributes to improving the quality of grassroots trade union activities.
Regarding the work of caring for union members, Mr. Tuan affirmed the consistent viewpoint of the Hai Phong City Labor Federation is that all financial resources must be directed towards grassroots levels, towards union members and workers. Welfare programs are always carefully selected to ensure the best quality for union members.
During the recent Lunar New Year, the Hai Phong trade union system spent about 400 billion VND to care for union members and workers. The locality also maintains the effectiveness of the Capital Assistance Fund for union members in difficult circumstances to support workers to access capital sources with simple procedures, contributing to limiting black credit. Currently, the fund is operating stably and no bad debts have arisen.
In addition to emergency support programs, the City Labor Federation also implements many other social security policies such as supporting union members to return to their hometowns for Tet, subsidies for policy families, relatives of martyrs, and supporting children of union members in difficult circumstances or union members who unfortunately passed away.
The effectiveness of trade union financial work is measured by the level of satisfaction and enjoyment of union members. When resources are truly directed towards workers, trust in the trade union organization will be strengthened," Mr. Tuan emphasized.
Along with that, Hai Phong is promoting digital transformation in trade union financial management. Currently, the entire process of signing and financial payment is carried out by digital signatures and electronic platforms, helping to significantly reduce administrative procedures, improve transparency and ensure safety in resource management.
From local practice, the Chairman of the Hai Phong City Labor Federation proposed that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor soon build a unified financial management software system throughout the trade union system, connecting data with tax authorities, social insurance and related databases.
Participating in the discussion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga - delegate of the Hanoi Labor Federation said that looking back at the period 2023 - 2025, the financial work and economic activities of the Hanoi Labor Federation have had many clear changes.
The highlight in this period is the promotion of collecting trade union fees in the business sector through the centralized account of the Vietnam Trade Union. The transition from manual, distributed collection methods to centralized collection is not only a technical change but also an important step forward in financial management towards modernity and transparency. As a result, about 3,500 businesses participated in paying fees through centralized accounts, an increase of 250% compared to the beginning of the term.
Along with that, the distribution and use of funds continue to be carried out in accordance with regulations, in the direction of prioritizing grassroots levels. The City Labor Federation always ensures that 75% of trade union funds are allocated to grassroots trade unions, creating conditions for units to directly care for the material and spiritual life of union members and workers through welfare programs and practical support...
However, in the context of increasingly high requirements of the digital transformation process, organizational structure arrangement and rapid fluctuations in the labor market, it is also necessary to frankly recognize that, besides the achieved results, trade union finance work in the Capital still has limitations and inadequacies.
Regarding spending and financial use, in general, regulations have been closely followed and there is a priority orientation for grassroots levels, but in some places there are still signs of spending leaning towards administrative procedures, not really flexible according to the practical needs of union members and workers.
Therefore, the Hanoi Labor Federation proposed a number of key solutions:
Centralize revenue sources associated with digital data transparency and real-time management. This is identified as a key stage, because only when "input" is well controlled can sustainable resources be ensured. Hanoi proposes to continue to improve centralized revenue infrastructure, expand compulsory collection of trade union fees through centralized accounts for businesses; at the same time, build an automatic counterpart system based on big data, directly interconnected between trade union agencies and taxes and social insurance.
Besides, there is a shift in thinking about using finance in the direction of "finance serving union member welfare".
Trade union finance is not just a resource, but must become a tool to create practical value. This is a fundamental change, in which each expenditure needs to be assessed based on the actual value that workers receive.
Therefore, it is necessary to restructure the expenditure portfolio in the direction of reducing administrative expenditures, prioritizing programs that can create direct and measurable impacts such as worker housing, health care, and microfinance programs to help workers improve their income and stabilize their lives...
Based on the opinions contributed by delegates, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Phan Van Anh said that he will fully absorb them to report to the Presidium and the Congress, thereby completing the Congress Resolution as well as proposing appropriate solutions to promote the achieved results, and at the same time overcome limitations and shortcomings in trade union financial work in the past time.
