Discussing at the hall about the draft Law on Trade Unions (amended), National Assembly delegate Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran (National Assembly Delegation of Binh Duong province) gave an example from the reality of the province, with the shortage of human resources at an alarming level.
Currently, Binh Duong has more than 4,000 grassroots unions and over 750,000 union members. However, only 98 union officials are allocated, which is too small to meet the needs of organizing and operating a large number of union members.
Delegate Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran commented that with such a small staff, the arrangement of personnel for essential job titles and positions is not enough.
In some places, there are only 3 union officials, of which the President is the account holder, and the Vice President is also the Chairman of the Inspection Committee, accountant, and treasurer. Having an individual hold too many roles is not only against regulations but also risks leading to violations in operations.
Although Binh Duong ranks 53rd among localities with the lowest number of union officials in the country, this is not an isolated case. The shortage of union officials is a common problem and has existed in the union organization for many years.
To address this situation, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed increasing autonomy in organizational and personnel work, to help unions better fulfill their representative role.
With autonomy, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor will be more proactive in determining the number of union officials needed, as well as planning and training appropriate to the characteristics of each industry and locality, avoiding shortcomings like the case of Binh Duong.
Only when having the initiative in numbers, can the trade union organization choose cadres with capacity, qualifications, prestige, and good performance in performing tasks.
Besides funding, human resources are an important and decisive factor for trade unions to effectively perform their role in protecting the legitimate rights and interests, as well as taking care of the material and spiritual lives of union members and workers.
But looking from the example of Binh Duong and more broadly, when compared with other socio-political organizations such as the Women's Union, the Youth Union, the Farmers' Association, and the Fatherland Front, the current union staffing is only one-third - as said by delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (National Assembly Delegation of Tra Vinh province) - then in reality, the current human resources of the union organization are not enough, if not to say very lacking.
In the new situation, the tasks of the union are increasingly complex, the workload is increasing. Therefore, strengthening human resources in parallel with strengthening tasks and responsibilities is inevitable!
