National Assembly delegates from Nghe An discuss the Draft Law on Trade Unions (amended)

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh chaired the meeting. The National Assembly delegation of Nghe An was led by Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council.

Speaking at the discussion, full-time National Assembly delegate of Nghe An delegation Tran Nhat Minh said: Through contact with voters who are grassroots trade union officials about the Draft Law on Trade Unions (amended), many opinions said that the regulations on working hours of grassroots trade union officials as in the current law are extremely inadequate, still average, not suitable for the scale of large units, organizations, and enterprises with a large number of workers.

In reality, the fact that grassroots union officials use 12 or 24 working hours per month to do union work as it is now is extremely limited, while negotiating with employers to have more time for union activities is also very difficult, especially for organizations, agencies and enterprises with many employees who need a lot of time for union activities.

Therefore, to solve this problem,According to the delegate, it is not necessary to specify the amount of time as in the draft law, but only to stipulate the general principle: "Non-professional union officials are guaranteed time to perform union duties and are paid by the employer. The total working time of all non-professional union officials is determined on the basis of the number of union members".

At the same time, delegate Tran Nhat Minh said that the National Assembly should assign the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor to regulate the working hours of grassroots trade union officials according to the scale of each unit, agency, and enterprise in the direction of the draft law submitted to the National Assembly at the 7th Session, which is reasonable; but it should study regulations on appropriate quantity and time to ensure feasibility.

Delegate Tran Nhat Minh also agreed with the opinion of the previous delegate in the Hall that the law should stipulate: "Employers are not allowed to unilaterally terminate labor contracts, work contracts, dismiss, force to quit or transfer to other jobs for non-professional union officials without written consent from the executive committee of the direct superior union. ...".

Because, as the draft law stipulates, the executive committee members of the grassroots trade union are paid by the employer, therefore, if stipulated as in the draft law, it will be easy for the employer to request or force the executive committee of the grassroots trade union to agree to an agreement, causing disadvantages for grassroots trade union officials who are fired, quit, etc., thereby leading to the mentality that trade union officials do not dare to fight for the workers.

"In my opinion, adding the regulation requiring written opinions from the executive committee of the direct superior trade union is extremely necessary to best protect the legitimate rights and interests of grassroots trade union officials," said the delegate of Nghe An delegation.

Mr. Tran Nhat Minh also acknowledged that the provisions in the draft law do not clearly state which level of trade union is responsible for protecting grassroots trade union officials when their contracts are terminated and suggested that the provisions on this issue need to be clarified.

“In my opinion, this content should stipulate the responsibility of the grassroots trade union organization, and be amended as follows: “In the case of a non-professional trade union employee whose labor contract or employment contract is terminated by the employer, forced to quit or illegally dismissed, the grassroots trade union has the responsibility to request the competent State agency to intervene; if authorized, the grassroots trade union shall represent the employee in filing a lawsuit at the Court to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the trade union,” delegate Tran Nhat Minh suggested.

Delegate Tran Nhat Minh also expressed his agreement with many opinions of National Assembly deputies suggesting to continue maintaining the 2% union fund level, saying that continuing to legalize this regulation is extremely necessary, ensuring that unions fulfill their responsibilities to union members and workers; responsibilities in building harmonious and progressive labor relations, contributing to the stability and development of agencies, units and enterprises," said the delegate of Nghe An delegation.

At the same time, he also assessed that the draft law has added some contents to suit the reality, such as the regulation on suspension, exemption and reduction of union fee payment for organizations and enterprises facing difficulties. When implementing this policy, revenue from union fees is expected to decrease, however, at that time, the superior union will still support, protect and maintain the rights of union members and employees at the grassroots union when they are in cases of suspension, exemption and reduction of fee payment.

Also in the working program on the morning of October 23, the National Assembly heard the presentation and report on the examination of the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Health Insurance.