From the requirements of practice
At the Congress, many opinions and presentations focused on clarifying the role of the Trade Union organization in the coming time. Many opinions suggested that if previously care activities mainly focused on supporting material life, in the context of digital transformation, automation, green economic development and increasingly deep international integration, the needs of workers have changed significantly.
In addition to salaries and jobs, workers today are also more interested in a safe working environment, learning opportunities to improve their qualifications, career development, physical and mental health care, as well as welfare policies for families.
For example, at the Vietnam Textile and Garment Trade Union, taking care of workers in the current period should not only stop at immediate support but also aim to improve professional capacity, helping workers adapt to changes in the labor market.
Or at Stanley Vietnam Electricity Co., Ltd., the grassroots trade union has maintained dialogue and collective negotiation for many years, thereby bringing practical benefits to workers. In particular, at the 2026 periodic dialogue, many workers' recommendations have been received and implemented immediately by businesses such as doubling heat protection allowances, building walkway canopies and installing escalators in the dining area.
These are very vivid and specific examples proving: If the Trade Union organization considers union members and workers as the center, then there will be stable labor relations, and the position and role of the Trade Union organization will be increasingly enhanced.
However, it is also necessary to recognize a reality that some trade union activities are still heavily administrative and movement-based, not really going deep into the issues that workers need most. The capacity to represent, dialogue, and protect workers' rights in some places is still limited. Grassroots trade unions in many businesses are still weak, not strong enough to grasp, reflect, and promptly resolve the grievances of union members.
Suggestions from the speech of General Secretary, President To Lam
Speaking to direct at the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated the role and effectiveness of the Trade Union organization in the past time but also set many new requirements. The General Secretary and President said: "This Congress is not only a term congress of the Trade Union organization, but also an opportunity for us to answer a very big question: How should the Vietnam Trade Union innovate to truly be a reliable support for workers, a solid bridge between the Party, the State and the working class, and an important force contributing to building the country in the new era".
Answering this question, the General Secretary and President also outlined 6 specific tasks for the Trade Union organization in the new term. These are key tasks orienting action for trade union levels, and at the same time are requirements for profound innovation in thinking, operating methods and measures of the effectiveness of the organization representing the working class and laborers.
The consistent point in these tasks is the view of taking union members and workers as the center of all trade union activities. This is not a general slogan, but a principled requirement, forcing each trade union level, each trade union official to re-examine their way of doing things: Is that activity practical for workers, does it protect their rights, does it help them feel secure in working, attached to businesses, and trust in the Trade Union organization?
In the context of the country entering a new stage of development, workers need to be equipped with more knowledge, professional skills, digital skills, the ability to master technology and the spirit of innovation. Therefore, the role of the Trade Union does not only stop at taking care of immediate life, supporting union members when in difficulty, visiting when sick, giving gifts on holidays and Tet. The Trade Union must participate with the State, businesses, and training institutions to expand lifelong learning opportunities for workers. Each worker must have access to vocational training conditions, improve their qualifications, adapt to new technologies and have the potential for long-term development.
This is also the most fundamental way to care for workers. A gift can help workers overcome immediate difficulties, but a new skill, a learning opportunity, and a better working environment can help them change their future. Caring for workers in the new period must therefore be associated with housing, schools, healthcare, cultural institutions, and a safe and humane living environment in industrial parks and export processing zones, where many workers are concentrated.
Trade unions are born to represent, care for, and protect workers. Therefore, all trade union programs, plans, and movements must answer very specific questions: What do workers get, what rights are protected, what difficulties are removed, what voices are listened to.
This requirement is closely linked to the activities of grassroots trade unions. Grassroots is the area that determines the vitality of the Trade Union organization. Wherever the policy is correct, wherever the policy is good, if it does not reach the grassroots level, does not touch the lives of workers, the effectiveness is still limited. Grassroots trade unions are the closest place to workers, understanding their thoughts, aspirations, grievances and the most specific issues in labor relations.
The 6 tasks that General Secretary and President To Lam raised are both comprehensive and specific, and set requirements for innovation from thinking to action for the Trade Union organization. In which, taking union members and workers as the center is the continuous red thread. All trade union activities, from caring for life, protecting rights, collective bargaining, building grassroots trade unions, digital transformation to participating in Party building, must be directed towards workers, starting from the needs of workers and measured by the practical benefits of workers.
