EC Meeting Papers January 2018

Industrial Affairs Vietnamese trade unionists deepen links with British unions The General Federation of Trade Unions has hosted a week-long study visit by senior representatives of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. In this article VGCL international division head HIEU XUAN DUON responds to questions put to the delegation by the Morning Star and trade unionists

THE Vietnamese trade union movement has nearly 10 million members and is represented in key decision-making organs and national tripartite bodies.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), the country’s only trade union centre, is the equivalent of the TUC. It was established in 1929.

The retirement age for men in Vietnam is 60 and for women 55, and for those in specialist and dangerous occupations even younger.

The minimum wage has no age discrimination, but is calculated based on the cost of living geographically. The unions won a 6.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage this year.

There is a minimum of 21 days’ holiday, including public holidays, with an additional day being added each five years of service. There is an overtime limit of 200 hours per annum and there is a working week of around 40 hours in offices and 48 hours in manual production. The Vietnamese workforce is young and predominantly in manufacturing. The economy is growing fast each year. There is an ongoing effort to involve women throughout the movement and organs of power.

Fifty per cent of trade union members are women, and in national power structures within the movement 30 per cent are women.

While the National Assembly aspires to 25 per cent female membership, key political figures such as the chair of the National Assembly, its permanent vice-chair and a state vice- president are women.

After 30 years of doi moi (renewal), the private economic sector has played an important driving force in the development of the socialist-oriented market economy in Vietnam.

The private sector accounts for 39-40 per cent of GDP, with several major private economic groups and an increasing number of entrepreneurs.