Improving workers' lives from the effectiveness of collective labor agreements

The benefits benefits "above the law"

At Kyungshin Co., Ltd., the collective labor agreement is not only widely publicized on the bulletin board but also disseminated through internal groups, making it easy for employees to access. In 2025, the agreement was adjusted and supplemented with 9 new provisions with many outstanding points compared to legal regulations: Basic salary increased by 13% compared to the regional minimum wage; gasoline and housing support increased by 60%; diligence bonus increased by 71%.

In addition, the company also applies a night shift allowance regime outside the law and organizesspecial mealMonthly, increased productivity bonus, holiday bonus, Tet bonus. Policies such as taking care of pregnant women, people with young children, occupational safety and hygiene training, paid fire prevention and fighting, periodic health check-ups... are also fully maintained.

Ms. Tran Thi Huong - Vice President of the Grassroots Trade Union of Kyungshin Co., Ltd. said that in order to build a practical agreement, the Trade Union conducted a survey of more than 1,000 employees before each negotiation period. Contents related to salary, bonus, benefits, and working conditions were all compiled for negotiation with the Board of Directors. According to Ms. Huong, proactively proposing favorable terms that exceed the legal framework is the key factor that creates real value for the agreement. These are the regimes related to salary, allowances, shift meals, child care, rest, maternity, etc.

To protect the rights of union members, the negotiation skills of the Executive Board of the Trade Union need to be well-equipped, based on specific data, and at the same time, put the interests of both parties on the basis of harmony and respect. Ms. Huong affirmed that the negotiation process needs to be persistent, flexible and can be repeated many times if results are not achieved. At the same time, it is necessary to build a harmonious relationship between employees and enterprises, listen to the opinions of employees, and grasp the business situation of the enterprise in each stage. Monitoring the process of publicizing and implementing the agreement after signing is also very important. Thanks to that, labor relations at Kyungshin Co., Ltd. are always stable, the rate of resignation has decreased from 11% to 7%, and the rate of attendance has reached 97-98%.

At Sangwoo Vietnam Co., Ltd., the collective labor agreement also brings many outstanding benefits. The basic salary is 4,954,000 VND/month, 12% higher than the regional minimum wage. The allowances that are given attention include a diligence allowance of 300,000 VND/person, a responsibility allowance of 150,000 VND or more, and a seniority allowance of 50,000 to 250,000 VND, increasing gradually over time. On Tet holiday, employees receive an additional month of social insurance premium along with a morale bonus. The company also supports marriage, childbirth, illness, loss, and supports phone, meals, vehicles, and housing.

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Collective labor agreements not only protect the rights of employees but also help businesses develop sustainably, retain human resources, improve the working environment and build effective cooperative relationships with the Trade Union.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Manh - Chairman of the Trade Union of Sangwoo Co., Ltd.

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“Collective labor agreements are a legal tool to regulate labor relations and are also an effective solution to prevent strikes. However, to promote this role, it requires initiative and goodwill from both employers and labor representative organizations. Higher-level trade unions need to regularly update new policies, organize training courses, and foster dialogue and negotiation skills for grassroots trade union officials.

Mr. Le Van Son - Chairman of the Trade Union of Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited

“Inspiring” Union Officials

Collective labor agreements are an important legal foundation to ensure the legitimate rights of employees, thereby building harmonious, stable, and cooperative labor relations for sustainable development. The negotiation and signing process is also a measure of the representative capacity and prestige of union officials.

This is also a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the grassroots trade union, contributing to strengthening the trust of union members. Therefore, this work is always closely directed by the trade union at all levels. To have a contract in the right order (negotiation - signing - implementation), with many contents beneficial to the workers is not easy, requiring legal understanding, grasping the business situation and a high sense of responsibility from the trade union officials.

On the occasion of the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (July 28, 1929 - July 28, 2025), the Provincial Federation of Labor honored 50 exemplary grassroots union officials in the negotiation and signing of agreements. They are the "inspirational people" in performing the representative role, proposing favorable terms, suitable for production and business conditions, persuading enterprises to increase costs to improve workers' welfare and closely monitoring the implementation after signing.

Speaking at the ceremony, comrade Kha Van Tam - Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation emphasized: "In the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution, union officials in enterprises face many challenges. They are both contract workers and have to shoulder the responsibility of representing, taking care of union members' lives, and negotiating to achieve higher benefits than those prescribed by labor law."