The delegation was led by Mr. Stephen Smyth, Vice President of MEU.
This is the first time MEU and the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV) have exchanged bilateral delegations.
At the meeting, Mr. Huynh Thanh Xuan and Mr. Stephen Smyth discussed the general situation of trade union activities.
Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Huynh Thanh Xuan highly appreciated the practical and effective activities of the Australian Trade Union in general and MEU in particular, especially for occupational safety and hygiene, to protect the health and safety of union members and workers...
At the meeting, Vice President Huynh Thanh Xuan shared some information on the results and contents of the priority activities of the Vietnam Trade Union. In which, after 96 years of formation and development, the Vietnam Trade Union has matured and developed in all aspects...
Representatives of Vietnam Trade Union effectively performed their role as members of the National Wage Council, successfully negotiated the increase in regional minimum wages with an increase of 5 - 6%/year, and continued to increase by 7.2% from January 1, 2026. Activities to care for workers are carried out in many diverse forms...
Currently, Vietnam Trade Unions at all levels are continuing to implement the Resolution of the 13th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, focusing on 03 breakthroughs, including:
The first is to promote dialogue and collective bargaining, focusing on wages, bonuses, working hours, rest hours, and occupational safety and hygiene. The target by the end of the term is that at least 83% of enterprises and units with trade unions that meet the conditions prescribed by law will be negotiated by trade unions and signed collective labor agreements according to the provisions of law.
Second is to focus on developing union members, establishing grassroots unions in non-state enterprises; establishing grassroots organizations in 100% of enterprises with 25 or more employees.
Third is to build a team of grassroots union chairmen to meet the requirements of the task, especially union chairmen in non-state enterprises. The target is that 100% of newly elected grassroots union presidents will be trained and fostered in an appropriate manner.
On this occasion, the Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor expressed his hope that the two mining trade unions of Australia and Vietnam will actively cooperate and exchange experiences on this extremely important content to better protect workers in the industry.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Stephen Smyth said that MEU has more than 24,000 union members. MEU wishes to learn from experience in the field of occupational safety and hygiene and enhance connectivity to protect workers in the mining industry.
