The Politburo and the Secretariat have just issued Conclusion 174-KL/TW, in which the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) is assigned to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to study, advise, propose and guide the settlement of regimes and policies for full-time trade union officials working under contract regimes (salary and allowances from trade union funds) affected by the arrangement.
On the afternoon of July 5, speaking with reporters, Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor said that according to the summary of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor from data provided by the Provincial and Municipal Labor Federations, by May 2025, the whole country had 511 full-time union officials working in professional and technical fields under contract regimes. Most of these signed contracts before January 15, 2019 (425 people) due to the actual need for lack of personnel working in specialized trade union agencies, especially personnel working in finance.
The Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor said that according to the general assessment, the contract workers are mostly with professional qualifications and good working skills; enthusiastic, dedicated, attached to union members and workers, close to the grassroots, and devoted themselves to the trade union organization and workers. Many brothers and sisters have made outstanding efforts and achieved outstanding results with the desire to be recruited to become long-term civil servants in the trade union organization. To date, the person who has worked for the longest time is 33 years, the person who has been with the trade union for the shortest time is 5 years.
In the process of reviewing and implementing Decree 178/2024/ND-CP for cadres, civil servants and public employees in trade union agencies and trade union public service units, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has soon paid attention to the subject of full-time trade union cadres working professionally and professionally under the labor contract regime. Since April 2025, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has discussed this issue. In May 2025, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor issued 2 documents to the Ministry of Home Affairs proposing and recommending on this issue.
At the working session with the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Trade Unions (May 9, 2025), the Party Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor recommended that the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Trade Unions pay attention to and consider this issue.
In 2 documents (June 2 and 16, 2025) of the Party Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor sent to the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central Trade Unions), the Party Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor reported and proposed that the Party Committee at the higher level report to the competent authority to study and approve the policy for settling the regime and policies for contract staff according to Decree 178. During the working session of General Secretary To Lam with the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front and Central organizations, the recommendations of the Party Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor were compiled and reported to the General Secretary.
It can be said that, with their responsibility, in the face of the legitimate rights and interests of union members and workers in general, and union officials in particular, the Party Committee and the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor are very interested, researched, and proposed. This is a sensitive issue, historical and not yet included in policies, so without the policy of the competent authority, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor cannot notify or communicate to the brothers and sisters" - Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu expressed.
According to the Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, at the Conference of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor on June 9, 2025, in response to the reflection of some Chairmen of the Labor Federations of provinces and cities, the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor affirmed that it is actively making recommendations and working with competent authorities to resolve this issue.
The issue also received deep attention from some former leaders of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.
According to Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu, for the past 3 months, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has focused on researching, advising, and proposing this issue, and has established a working group to work very urgently. The consistent viewpoint of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor is to best protect the rights of trade union officials on the basis of the general level of policies.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu said: "When Conclusion 174-KL/TW of the Politburo and the Secretariat were issued, the team of full-time union officials working under the contract regime as well as the team of union officials in general were very happy and excited. We are calculating and making specific plans to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant agencies. But the basis of the proposed policy or plan is based on Decree 178/2024/ND-CP and Decree 154, in accordance with the specific characteristics of the subject and the financial source of the trade union".
I would like to express my hope that the contract union officials will be extremely calm and believe in the leadership of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the leadership of the Party, State and the Vietnam Fatherland Front. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor would like to express gratitude, recognition, and honor the contributions of the brothers and sisters to the growth of the trade union organization and the happiness of workers, said Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu.
