At the conference on information about the situation of workers, trade unions and the draft revised Trade Union Law, which recently took place in Thai Nguyen, Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor said that recently, union members and workers proposed adding 2 days off for the National Day holiday on September 2, to extend the holiday until September 5.
"The average number of holidays and Tet holidays in Southeast Asian countries is about 16-17 days, while in Vietnam it is only 11 days. From reality, it can be seen that there is still room to increase the number of holidays and Tet holidays in Vietnam," said Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu.
Adding two more holidays on National Day, September 2, will spread out the holidays more evenly throughout the year, with each holiday a few months apart. Workers will have time to rest, restore their energy, and have more options to return to their hometowns, travel, or let their children visit relatives before the new school year begins.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu shared: "In the long term, we need to aim for more National Day holidays. If possible, we will create opportunities for workers to take their children to school on the opening day of September 5. This simple thing is the dream of many workers."
The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor is continuing to research and propose increasing the number of National Day holidays on September 2.
In 2019, when participating in the revision of the Labor Code, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed to add 3 more public holidays because at that time Vietnam only had 10 official holidays. However, when the Code was passed, the number of official holidays was only increased by one, before or after the National Day (September 1 or September 3) depending on the year chosen by the Government.
At the Trade Union Congress at the end of 2023, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor continued to propose to the competent authority to add 2 more days off so that the National Day holiday would last until September 5.
The goal is to create conditions for workers to take their children to school openings, and for long, even holidays spaced 3-4 months apart to help them rest while not reducing working hours to less than 48 hours per week.
