Part 3: Dialogue and courage to create harmony
In the context of increasingly complex labor relations, conflict prevention and resolution cannot rely solely on tough administrative measures. The need to be listened to and have dialogue is essential, because from there, new obstacles have the opportunity to be resolved and policies are improved. Trade unions have constantly promoted their mettle, becoming impartial "weighers" to create a harmonious and stable working environment, helping businesses develop sustainably.
Author: Diep Thanh - Thanh Chung - Phan Trang
Technique: Diep Thanh
In the context of increasingly complex labor relations, conflict prevention and resolution cannot rely solely on tough administrative measures. The need to be listened to and have dialogue is essential, because from there, new obstacles have the opportunity to be resolved and policies are improved. Trade unions have constantly promoted their mettle, becoming impartial "weighers" to create a harmonious and stable working environment, helping businesses develop sustainably.
The need to be listened to and have a dialogue is one of the essential needs that union members, workers and laborers want to be met. From that listening, problems have the opportunity to be resolved; conflicts in labor relations have the opportunity to be resolved; policies have the opportunity to be improved and workers and laborers themselves have the opportunity to affirm their position.
In the development of Nghe An Trade Union, forums for workers have never been organized as many and with such quality as in recent years. Since Resolution 02 of the Politburo on innovation of trade union organization in the new situation was issued, hundreds of forums for union members and workers have been organized at all levels, thousands of workers' opinions have been recorded and reflected.
The highlight of this series of forums is the first dialogue conference between the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and workers and laborers, which took place in mid-2022. Since then, many quality dialogues have continued to be maintained at district, sector and grassroots levels. Workers have been able to make their own recommendations, and many areas and issues such as housing, kindergartens, traffic infrastructure, trade union institutions, social insurance, allowances, etc. have been listened to and resolved promptly. Nghe An Trade Unions at all levels have also built many other forum models such as the Forum "Enterprises for Workers - Workers for Enterprises", the program "Thanking Workers", policy dialogue with authorities, conferences to meet voters who are workers, etc.
Mr. Thai Minh Sy - Vice Chairman of the Provincial Federation of Labor, shared: “With the nature of shift work, gathering a large group of workers to grasp their thoughts and aspirations, answer questions, and have direct dialogue... is very difficult. To overcome this limitation, union officials at all levels have been flexible and creative in accessing information, for example, going to boarding houses to distribute survey forms, visiting factories, pasting QR codes to record online opinions, and grasping from grassroots union officials... From this information, unions at all levels have made recommendations to functional agencies and local authorities to make reasonable changes and adjustments, helping to improve workers' lives, ensure their rights, and enable them to work with peace of mind.”
Also with the purpose of listening to the thoughts and aspirations and bringing benefits to workers, at the grassroots level, the trade union executive committee has been trained, guided and directed to conduct dialogues with business owners on a regular basis, and the coordination work to implement the grassroots democracy regulations continues to have many changes. The number and quality of conferences of cadres, civil servants, and dialogue conferences at the workplace have been improved. Every year, 100% of units organize Conferences of Cadres, Civil Servants; the rate of dialogue conferences and conferences of workers at enterprises reaches from 50% to 76%.
In cases of collective work stoppages, strikes, labor conflicts, etc., the role of union officials is extremely important. Not only do they listen, they also have to have the courage of impartial "judgment judges".
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Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation emphasized: “In the case of a collective work stoppage, thousands of workers will have thousands of opinions. Union officials will be the ones who directly work with the workers, have the role of listening, synthesizing those opinions into specific groups, considering the matter to negotiate harmonizing interests. Most importantly, with their knowledge of labor law, union officials must know which opinions are correct, reasonable, and which opinions are wrong, unreasonable. This is when union officials demonstrate their ingenuity in mass mobilization work with both workers and business owners.”
A typical example is Viet Glory Company Limited (Dien Chau), a company that has experienced 3 collective work stoppages in just the first 3 years of operation. After 2 initial unrests, the workers themselves demanded to establish a union. The grassroots union was established in March 2021. During the most recent strike in October 2023, nearly 6,000 workers stopped working with 8 groups petitioning about wages and benefits. With the skillful and reasonable intervention of the union organization, workers were clearly analyzed about legal regulations and the company was persuaded to recalculate welfare benefits. After 5 tense days, the workers agreed to return to work. Currently, Viet Glory Company Limited has not only stabilized production but also developed a new, large-scale, modern factory with more than 8,000 workers. Production and labor relations at this enterprise are increasingly improving. The Company's General Director - Mr. Yao Xiao Qian expressed: "We are truly grateful for the companionship and support of the Nghe An Provincial and Dien Chau District Trade Unions over the years. Without you, the company would not be what it is today."
BSE Electronics Company Limited (Nam Cam) is also a company that has repeatedly experienced collective work stoppages. Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong - Chairwoman of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union, recounted the incident at the end of April 2024 when the company pushed some older workers to do cleaning work, did not allow workers to take leave when their parents died, causing discontent among the workers: “In this situation, the company did not understand the basic ethics, traditions, and culture of the Vietnamese people. Therefore, we had to both mobilize and reassure the workers and explain the problem to the company. In addition to having a firm grasp of the law, we also need to be resolute when necessary and analyze it thoroughly and reasonably.”
In the flow of integration and development, arousing the sense of responsibility of each worker and laborer towards their homeland and country is a key factor to strengthen ideological security. Nghe An Trade Union has had many creative and appropriate ways to kindle class pride and patriotism among the workers.
With the characteristics of working in shifts, assembly lines, and stressful hours of workers and direct laborers, many enterprises, especially FDI enterprises, do not have a Party organization, so it is not easy to propagate the Party's policies and resolutions, the State's laws and policies, and educate love for the homeland and country. To overcome this, in recent times, the propaganda work of Nghe An Provincial Trade Union has had many innovations, models, and creative ways of doing things, adapting to modern information trends and the needs of union members and laborers, creating an image and trust of union members in the trade union organization.
Welcoming International Labor Day on May 1 and Workers' Month 2025, the atmosphere in industrial parks and factories in Nghe An province is more exciting than usual. Everywhere is a sacred red - the red of the national flag, of ideals and aspirations to build. Not through parades or grand festivals, the patriotism of Nghe An workers is expressed through familiar and sincere things. Those are rows of factories covered with red flags with yellow stars and hammer and sickle flags: on walls, on machine lines, on desks, even flags are planted in flower pots. Many grassroots unions and enterprises have designed a separate check-in corner in the company to turn to the Fatherland, many foreign workers also enjoy participating.
Not only hanging flags, each worker himself is also a bright red flag. From the initiative of the grassroots trade union, workers have invested in red flag with yellow star uniforms, making an appointment to dye the workplace red with unconcealed pride. Trade unions at all levels have organized a series of meaningful activities such as blood donation, visiting workers in difficult circumstances, sports and art competitions, and activities to return to the source... Organizing these activities helps workers and laborers experience and express their pride and love for their homeland and country.
On April 29, 2025, tens of thousands of workers in Nghe An simultaneously saluted the flag and sang the national anthem right at their workplace. This program was maintained throughout May and many businesses decided to maintain this ritual as a mandatory regulation with strong response from workers.
The emulation movements that the trade union organization has implemented also have similar meanings. Mr. Kha Van Tam - Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation, emphasized: "Launching emulation movements is to arouse the endogenous strength of union members and workers. Therefore, emulation movements must have a focus, key points and not be formal. At the same time, they must be suitable for reality, associated with the political functions and tasks of the agency and unit". The emulation movement "Good worker, Creative worker" continues to promote its role, affirming the core and consistent values in the emulation movements of the trade union organization. Thematic emulation movements "Good at public work - Good at housework", "Green, clean, beautiful, ensuring occupational safety and hygiene", "Culture - Sports" are also widely deployed...
With that spirit, Nghe An always stands out with impressive achievements in creative emulation movements, such as the Program "75 thousand initiatives to overcome difficulties and develop" and the Program "1 million initiatives - efforts to overcome difficulties, creativity, determination to win the pandemic".
Fueling this movement, at the 2025 Creative Labor Forum, Nghe An Trade Union announced the “Nghe An Workers Follow Uncle Ho’s Teachings” Award, honoring 22 individuals with outstanding achievements in creative labor. Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Huynh Thanh Xuan affirmed: “The initiatives and innovations of Nghe An workers have contributed to improving the competitiveness of enterprises and promoting the socio-economic development of the province and the whole country. You have turned difficulties into opportunities, turned challenges into motivation to rise strongly”.
