In a small rented room in Linh Xuan ward, Ms. Le Thi My Lan has repeatedly wondered when she wanted to apply for unemployment benefits and look up social insurance information. Not knowing where to find accurate guidance, questions about procedures once made her worried. However, since being guided by the Trade Union organization to use digital platforms, everything has completely changed. Now, Ms. Lan only needs to open her smartphone to easily look up or send questions to receive accurate feedback.
Ms. Lan's case is clear evidence of the effectiveness of digital transformation that the Ho Chi Minh City Trade Union is implementing. Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation manages more than 23,000 grassroots trade unions, with more than 2.4 million trade union members and nearly 7.2 million workers, civil servants, and laborers - accounting for about 1/4 of the total number of trade union members nationwide. The large scale and vast area pose the problem of constantly innovating management and administration methods.
Faced with that reality, digital transformation is identified as an important solution to shorten the gap with workers. Tools such as "Ho Chi Minh City Trade Union Management Application", "AI Assistant" and "Electronic Handbook" have become effective connection channels, helping union members access policies more conveniently.
Reality at the grassroots level shows the effective support from technology. Ms. Tran Thi Thu Tram - Vice Chairwoman of Tan Hung Ward Trade Union, Ho Chi Minh City - shared that the local characteristics do not have export processing zones or industrial parks, but concentrate more than 9,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, the Ward Trade Union is managing 458 grassroots trade unions with more than 40,000 trade union members.
To solve a large workload, putting the "Electronic Handbook" into operation has significantly reduced pressure on trade union officials. This platform effectively supports in advising workers, guiding processes and procedures for establishing grassroots trade unions, as well as regulations on contributions and union fees. To date, the system has received and answered questions for more than 1,000 turns of workers.
In addition to technology solutions, Tan Hung Ward Trade Union has established and launched a "Digital Transformation Team" directly going down to each grassroots level to promptly remove arising difficulties and obstacles. With proactiveness and closeness to the area, the Ward Trade Union has directly participated in mediating 63 labor disputes, protecting the legitimate rights of workers and contributing to building harmonious and stable labor relations.
Emphasizing the message "Trade unions cannot be strong if they are far from workers, cannot be attractive if workers' rights are not well protected" - Ms. Nguyen Kim Loan - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation - said that trade union activities have shifted from short-term support to long-term care policies, focusing on creating stable jobs, increasing income and improving workers' lives.
In particular, in August 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation will implement a 30-day campaign to update union member data, creating a basis for promoting practical social security programs such as large-scale health screening and housing care for workers.
