Looking back at 21 strikes and the role of grassroots unions in Nghe An

(Baonghean) - From 2010 to now, Nghe An has had 21 strikes and a series of labor disputes. This shows that the role of trade unions in enterprises is still unclear and has many shortcomings. While many large enterprises have invested in Nghe An with foreign elements, innovation in trade union organization and activities is necessary.

In early October 2016, nearly 3,000 workers of Matrix Vinh Company located in Bac Vinh Industrial Park quit their jobs. They demanded that the company resolve related labor issues such as stressful working hours, low lunch allowance, short lunch breaks, inadequate toilets, etc. This action by thousands of workers forced the company to stop operating. The incident dragged on, but the company and the workers still could not “find a common voice”.

Two days later, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong was present at the company, requesting departments, branches, the Southeast Economic Zone and the company to organize a dialogue with workers to resolve their legitimate rights and ensure the company's stable operations again.

Following the direction of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, a dialogue between the company and the workers was held. During this dialogue, the leaders of Matrix Vinh Company promised to fix the problem of ensuring clean toilets for workers, increase the lunch allowance from 12,000 VND to 15,000 VND/meal, and install additional card punching machines to facilitate workers to punch cards 4 times/day.

In addition, the company also considered raising seniority wages; rectifying the situation where team leaders cursed at workers... At this time, nearly 3,000 workers agreed to return to work.

Workers' lives in Nghe An still face many difficulties. Illustrative photo

This is just one of 21 strikes that have occurred in Nghe An since 2010. Collective labor disputes and strikes have been on the rise in recent years. Strikes are increasingly complicated in terms of dispute content, resolution time, and number of participants, negatively impacting the province’s socio-economic development.Meanwhile, the role of trade unions at all levels is too vague and has many shortcomings.

“The strikes were not in accordance with legal procedures, and the grassroots trade unions did not even know when the strike would take place. This proves that the grassroots trade unions have not grasped the wishes and thoughts of the workers to convey to the business owners; they have not really cared about the legitimate interests of the workers,” admitted Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong - Head of the Policy and Law Department, Nghe An Labor Federation.

The current general situation is that workers' lives in Nghe An are still difficult, with low wages and incomes; working conditions do not meet requirements...

TAccording to Mr. Nguyen Tu Phuong - Chairman of Nghe An Labor Federation, most enterprises are paying workers the same salary as the regional minimum wage. Most enterprises still take occupational safety and hygiene lightly. Very few enterprises conduct dialogues with workers every 3 months according to regulations, workers' interests are not met, so there is always a risk of conflicts and disputes between workers and employers, leading to strikes.

Talking about the limitations of trade union activities, Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong admitted that grassroots trade union officials at enterprises do not dare and cannot protect workers. Meanwhile, the number of grassroots trade union officials is still small and they also lack regular attention.

The Labor Law and the Trade Union Law are being assigned to grassroots trade union officials - who are actually working for business owners. Meanwhile, they themselves do not have the skills, knowledge, time and courage to exercise this right.

“In reality, business owners have not created conditions for grassroots unions to operate in terms of both time and funding. The percentage of businesses with trade unions is still too low. Meanwhile, workers do not really trust and place their trust in trade unions. In the coming time, the role of grassroots unions will still be difficult to promote because of the dependence of union officials on businesses through their jobs, income, and personal interests,” Mr. Cong added.

Nearly 3,000 workers at Matrix Vinh Company went on strike in October 2016. Photo: Archive

To address these limitations, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee recently organized a scientific workshop on innovation in the organization and operation of Nghe An trade unions in the context of international economic integration. At this workshop, delegates said that Nghe An needs to promote the establishment of trade union organizations in the near future, so that grassroots trade unions can be present and perform their functions in all enterprises, especially small enterprises; at the same time, promote dialogue to remove obstacles and build harmonious and stable labor relations.

Nghe An Trade Union also needs to shift from passive protection to active protection by focusing human resources to negotiate with business owners to build "technical barriers" at the enterprise such as collective labor agreements, regulations, labor norms, payroll... to protect workers from a distance.

In addition, it is necessary to eliminate bureaucracy in trade union activities. Activities to exchange, meet, and grasp the aspirations of workers should be carried out in the dormitory area, outside of working hours; increase social activities, organize for union members to have fun and entertainment after work...

Tien Hung