On the sidelines of the official visit to Korea by the high-level Vietnamese delegation led by Politburo Member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his wife, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, visited and worked with the Korean Trade Union Federation (FKTU).
The VGCL and FKTU established cooperative relations in 1993. Over the past three decades, the two sides have regularly maintained delegation exchanges, shared information, experiences and coordinated at regional and international trade union forums. The relationship between the two national trade union centers also creates conditions to promote direct cooperation between industry trade unions and local trade unions of the two countries.
Currently, there are 8 industry trade unions and 12 local Labor Federations under the Vietnam Trade Union that have established and developed cooperative and exchange relations with industry trade union organizations, provinces, and cities of Korea. The cooperation network is increasingly expanded, showing the need for substantive cooperation as well as the friendly and close feelings between trade union officials, union members and workers of the two countries.
On behalf of the leaders of the Korean Trade Union Federation, Mr. Sukyun KANG - Vice Chairman of FKTU, expressed his pleasure to welcome Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, to visit FKTU headquarters for the first time. The Vice Chairman of FKTU shared issues that FKTU is concerned about, including the impact of artificial intelligence, the foundational economy and the transition process on jobs and workers; expanding the scope of gathering and representing foundational workers, freelancers and vulnerable labor groups, including foreign workers working in Korea; reducing working hours; ensuring labor safety, hygiene and social security for workers.
Sharing information about the operational situation of the Vietnam Trade Union, especially the outstanding results of the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan highly appreciated the contributions of FKTU to the workers' movement and Korean trade unions, and emphasized the desire for the two sides to continue to strengthen information exchange and coordination on issues of mutual concern, especially the impact of digital transformation and technology application on jobs and workers; gather, represent and protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of grassroots workers and vulnerable labor groups; gather and support foreign workers; ensure social security, welfare and improve working conditions for workers.
After 10 years of implementing the Cooperation Agreement between the VGCL and FKTU, the two sides agreed that this is a suitable time to evaluate the results of cooperation, and at the same time exchange and agree on new cooperation orientations to strengthen bilateral relations in a practical and effective direction, going deeper, in line with the new requirements of the trade union movement and the rapid changes of the labor market.
The consolidation and improvement of the effectiveness of cooperative relations between the VGCL and FKTU not only contributes to improving the capacity to represent, care for and better protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of union members and workers of the two countries, but also contributes to strengthening the friendship, understanding and mutual trust between the people of Vietnam and Korea, thereby making practical contributions to people-to-people diplomacy and the Vietnam - Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
