Workers move because jobs and incomes are affected
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Tong Van Bang - Member of the Presidium, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for the Development of Union Members of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said that recently, some economic sectors have encountered difficulties, enterprises have reduced their production and business scale and at the same time reduced their workforce, and workers have not been able to find jobs, leading to a decrease in union members, affecting the target of developing union members and establishing grassroots unions in 2024. Along with that, the shift of labor has also affected the development of union members and workers - but to a certain extent.
The main reason for the labor migration phenomenon is that after the COVID-19 pandemic, many enterprises have not fully recovered their production and business activities, so they have had to cut their workforce. In particular, some enterprises in the wood, garment, and footwear industries have seen a sharp decrease in orders, leading to unemployment and insecure income for workers, so they have to find other jobs. Due to family circumstances, workers have had to move from industrial parks and export processing zones to their hometowns, work in the informal sector, or not participate in the labor market... Among these, many workers have chosen to return to their hometowns in the Northern and Central provinces to live.
“One of the factors to limit the movement of workers is that businesses must stabilize production and business activities, ensuring their jobs and income. When workers encounter difficulties, authorities also need to coordinate with trade unions to provide timely support, especially when they lose their jobs or are furloughed… It is necessary to understand the wishes of workers and the needs of businesses to introduce new jobs to workers,” said Mr. Tong Van Bang.
Innovation in content, promoting union member development
According to Mr. Tong Van Bang, in order to achieve the target of developing union members and establishing grassroots unions in 2024 set by the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, provincial, municipal and sectoral labor federations need to continue to grasp the increase and decrease in the number of union members and employees; trade unions at all levels need to continue to innovate content - that is, to choose appropriate, concise, focused, easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement content; to innovate propaganda forms, they must be diverse, rich, suitable for each target group of employers and employees, and suitable for the characteristics of the production and business situation of enterprises.
For business owners - the superior trade union needs to build and create a sympathetic relationship from the beginning with the business owner, gradually disseminate policies, laws, and the Charter of the Vietnam Trade Union so that business owners understand and actively cooperate in establishing a trade union organization at the enterprise.
According to the Steering Committee for Development of Union Members of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, in the third quarter of 2024, the whole country admitted 379,837 new union members. Of which, agencies, units, and enterprises with grassroots unions - 142,021 union members; administrative agencies, public service units, and state-owned enterprises - 15,465 union members; non-state service units and enterprises - 209,070 union members; and the informal sector - 13,135 union members. The above results have increased the total number of union members nationwide to more than 11,632,650, of which the actual increase in union members is 412,307, reaching 41.23% of the target for 2024.
According to the Steering Committee for Union Membership Development, there are 6 units that have admitted 10,000 or more new union members. These include the Hanoi City Labor Confederation (43,956 union members); Hai Phong City Labor Confederation (10,362 union members); Binh Duong Province Labor Confederation (39,470 union members), Hai Duong Province Labor Confederation (16,503 union members); Long An Province Labor Confederation (14,845 union members); Thanh Hoa Province Labor Confederation (12,445 union members). However, there are 13 units with a decrease in the number of union members and the unit with the largest decrease in the number of union members is Binh Duong Province Labor Confederation - a decrease of 7,377 union members).
Also in the third quarter of 2024, the whole country will establish 1,730 new grassroots trade unions, including 43 state-owned trade unions; 1,489 non-state-owned trade unions; and 198 informal-sector grassroots trade unions.
The above results have increased the total number of grassroots trade unions nationwide to 144,240 establishments, of which 814 are grassroots trade unions, with 2,198 grassroots trade unions established according to the new method by workers voluntarily establishing trade unions.
