Dear comrade, in the context of industrialization, modernization, international integration and international integration today, how do you assess the role, position and development of the Vietnamese working class after 40 years of renovation?
- Since its birth until now, especially in the past 40 years of renovation, our country's working class has always affirmed its historical mission, role and position as a revolutionary leadership class through its pioneering team, the Communist Party of Vietnam. Entering the period of accelerating industrialization, modernization and international integration, the working class continues to play a core role, directly maintaining and developing production, creating a large part of material wealth, mainly contributing to the state budget.
According to a report by the General Statistics Office, the country currently has about 17.5 million workers in the industrial - construction sector and 21.2 million workers in the service sector, accounting for about 39% of the population and 73.6% of the social labor force. The quality and skill level have gradually improved; the rate of trained workers increased from 64.5% in 2020 to 70% in 2025, of which the rate of workers with degrees and certificates increased from 24.1% in 2020 to about 29.2% in 2025. In particular, a young generation of workers mastering science and technology is forming, showing the new momentum of the Vietnamese working class in the digital age.
According to records of trade union levels, in the past time, the material and spiritual life of workers has improved. Jobs are basically stable; income and wages have been increased; the working environment has been constantly improved; labor relations are harmonious, stable and progressive, the number of disputes and collective work stoppages has decreased sharply. Grassroots democracy regulations have been expanded; social security and welfare policies are increasingly developing.
With the role of the largest representative organization of workers, what key solutions has the Vietnam Trade Union implemented, comrade?
- As the "largest representative organization, a center for gathering and uniting the working class and laborers (NLD) nationwide", the Vietnam Trade Union has implemented many solutions to participate with the entire political system in building a modern and strong working class in Vietnam, being a pioneering force in implementing the task of rapid and sustainable development of the country.
First, strengthen training and education, improve political and legal qualifications, class awareness, and national spirit for the working class. The Trade Union has proactively and flexibly chosen many forms, including applying digital technology to innovate methods of propaganda and dissemination of policies and laws; compiling and publishing a large amount of documents serving political and ideological education. Consulting and legal support activities, the trade union has raised legal awareness. the capacity to protect the rights of employees, contributing to building harmonious, stable and progressive relationships in enterprises.
Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style is regularly implemented. Cultural activities and a network of propagandists are effective. Cultural institutional models, self-management groups in boarding houses, and activities to care for spiritual life continue to be replicated. Every year, over 80% of union members and workers are trained and thoroughly grasp the Party's guidelines and policies; the State's policies and laws and the regulations of agencies, units, and businesses.
Second, actively participate in training, improve educational level, professional skills, and improve labor productivity for workers (CNLD). The work of mobilizing union members and workers to study lifelong has many effective models that have been replicated; proactively propose to the government, negotiate with employers to create conditions for workers to participate in learning and improve their skills. Trade union levels have proactively coordinated to organize many activities such as: building scholarship funds, learning points; coordinating to organize training and retraining classes; encouraging tutoring models between senior workers and new workers.
Third, creating an environment for workers to train and grow through patriotic emulation movements and campaigns nationwide. The patriotic emulation movement, "Good Labor, Creative Labor" has had millions of initiatives, with a profit value of hundreds of thousands of billions of VND, strongly arousing the spirit of creativity, discipline and social responsibility of workers, contributing to improving productivity, quality and labor efficiency nationwide. The reward rate for direct workers and employees who do not hold leadership positions reached 35.5%, exceeding the set target, clearly showing the orientation of taking union members and employees as the center, strongly directing rewards to the grassroots level, where directly organizing and responding to emulation movements.
Fourth, the Vietnam Trade Union continues to affirm its role as a representative, caring for and protecting the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of workers. Trade union levels have participated in contributing opinions on thousands of legal documents; effectively participated in the National Wage Council, proposed adjustments to the minimum wage; reflected the thoughts and aspirations of workers and employees to Party committees and authorities; and at the same time improved the quality of dialogue and collective bargaining.
As a result, 80.42% of collective labor agreements were signed with many clauses that are more beneficial to employees such as salary, bonuses, labor norms, safety, occupational hygiene, working conditions, mid-shift meals...
Union member welfare policies have become a practical fulcrum for millions of workers. The "Trade Union Home", "Tet Sum vay", "Workers' Month" programs have been widely implemented; a number of new models of care have been formed and implemented, achieving positive and typical results such as "Trade Union Meals".
Over 2 years of organization (2024, 2025), more than 20,000 grassroots trade unions have organized "Trade Union Meals" with the participation of more than 5 million union members (DV). Nearly 23 million turns of DV, NLD were cared for during the Lunar New Year with a total amount of nearly 15,000 billion VND.
Fifth, the Vietnam Trade Union strengthens coordination with levels and sectors in building a modern and strong working class; promotes the core role of the working class in alliances with the farmer class and the intellectual team, while promoting the process of "intellectualizing" workers. Thereby, improving the capacity, professional qualifications, professional skills and creative thinking of workers, contributing to building a modern and dynamic labor force, meeting the requirements of industrialization, modernization and international integration.
In the period 2023-2025, the VGCL awarded 1,457 Creative Labor Certificates to typical and outstanding individuals.
According to your assessment, what are the major challenges currently facing the Trade Union organization and workers?
- Besides the important results achieved, reality shows that the task of building the Vietnamese working class still faces many challenges, which are:
First, the development of the working class has not kept up with the requirements of the growth model and the country's development strategy. The quality of workers' human resources is still limited; the technical labor structure is unbalanced, lacking skilled workers, highly skilled workers and workers capable of mastering modern technology. The young workforce is large but unstable, the working age is short, the risk of shifting to the informal sector is increasing, reducing the sustainability of the working class in the long term.
Second, prolonged inadequacies in the distribution of benefits and ensuring social security undermine the motivation to strive of workers. Unsustainable employment; minimum wage is not enough to live on; income gaps between labor groups and between regions are still large. The social welfare system, especially housing, kindergartens, medical facilities and cultural and spiritual learning and activities, is still lacking, increasing the differentiation within the working class and potentially posing a risk of instability in labor relations.
Third, the human resource management model is slow to innovate, not suitable for the requirements of sustainable development. High labor intensity, prolonged working hours are still common, while investment in technological innovation, improving productivity and quality of human resources is not commensurate. This limits the ability to regenerate labor, learn to improve skills and take care of the overall life of workers, long-term affecting national competitiveness.
Fourth, the work of summarizing practice and researching theory on the working class has not met the requirements of the new context. Many new issues have arisen that have not been fully explained; breakthrough guidelines and policies have not been formed in building the working class.
Fifth, class awareness, political bravery and legal understanding of a part of workers are still limited; the work of detecting and training outstanding workers to train and arrange them into the political system is still inadequate. Trade union activities, especially in non-state enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises, are still facing many difficulties; the fact that the law allows the establishment of employee organizations in enterprises is at risk of being exploited to divide the working class poses new challenges for the Party's leadership.
Comrade, to build a modern and strong Vietnamese working class, what key tasks and solutions will the VGCL propose to the Party Central Committee and the Congress?
- To build a modern and strong Vietnamese working class, the VGCL proposed 5 main contents to the Party Central Committee and the Congress.
First, promulgate a strategy to build the working class associated with the socio-economic development strategy, concretizing the direction of building a modern and strong Vietnamese working class, associated with the development of science and technology, innovation. Focus on improving education, expertise, professional skills, industrial style and labor discipline so that the Vietnamese working class adapts, develops, masters knowledge, technology, international integration and promotes initiatives and innovation in the new era of development.
Second, ensure a harmonious distribution of benefits between employees, employers and society, the foundation of which is to issue regulations on the minimum living standard instead of the minimum wage. It is necessary to expand the welfare and social security system, pay attention to social insurance, housing, kindergartens, preschools, health, education and the spiritual and cultural life of workers; promote corporate social responsibility, encourage fair sharing of benefits, create sustainable jobs, sufficient living wages and invest in human development.
Third, research to reduce working hours, improve the quality of life of workers, associated with improving productivity and national competitiveness. This is a legitimate need to help workers regenerate labor, take care of spiritual life, take care of family and children, and at the same time have more learning conditions, improve professional qualifications and skills, promote productivity, quality of human resources and competitiveness of the economy, thereby affirming the pioneering role of the Vietnamese working class in the new era.
Fourth, pay more attention to the theoretical research and practical summarization of the construction of the working class. Direct the entire political system to summarize 20 years of implementing Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee (10th term) on "Continuing to build the Vietnamese working class in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country", on that basis, forming a new policy to lead the construction of a modern and strong working class in Vietnam in the new era of development.
Fifth, innovate and strengthen the leadership of the Party, the coordination and support of the State and the political system to promote the role of the Vietnam Trade Union in building a modern and strong working class. Improve mechanisms, proactively fight and prevent the abuse of the right of employees to establish organizations to divide the working class, distort and oppose the Party, State and Trade Union. Pay attention to promoting the admission of outstanding trade union members to the Party, especially in enterprises that do not yet have grassroots party organizations.
With absolute belief in the leadership of the Party and the good success of the 14th Congress, the working class and the Vietnam Trade Union organization are willing to unite, promote glorious traditions, revolutionary pioneering spirit, steadily move forward under the glorious flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam, determined to make unremitting, proactive, and creative efforts to soon bring the Resolution of the 14th Congress of the Party into life; together with the entire Party, entire people and entire army, joining hands to realize the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country.
- Sincerely thank you, comrade Nguyen Dinh Khang!
