Lesson 2: Need to strengthen the legal corridor

(Baonghean.vn) -In order for the movement of workers and laborers and the activities of trade unions to develop further, the problem is that in addition to the trade unions at all levels having to closely follow and focus on performing well the three basic functions, especially the function of representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers and laborers, it is necessary to strengthen the legal corridor for this issue.

>>Lesson 1: Inadequate employer-employee relationship

As an experienced person in developing union members and establishing grassroots unions, Mr. Nguyen Thai Son - Specialist of the Organizing Committee of the Provincial Labor Federation, said: The coordination between those working in enterprise administration and the representative of employees (union organization) is a bridge in all relationships with the enterprise administration apparatus. As the representative of the legitimate rights and interests of cadres and union members, the union organization will contribute a lot to the process of stabilizing, developing sustainably and improving the efficiency of production and business, bringing practical benefits to all parties in each enterprise. However, many enterprises evade, even find ways to... hide when union officials come to work. Many enterprises have moved their headquarters when they come to be inspected.

"The establishment of a union should come from the workers, the workers decide whether to establish it or not, but in reality it depends entirely on the business owner. Meanwhile, many business owners are not interested. Therefore, many units have trade unions but they operate in a formal way, not bringing real benefits to the workers." - Mr. Son said.

Workers must identify their role as owners, raise awareness of the law, and improve their skills.

Ms. Nguyen Thi My Hanh - President of the Construction Trade Union, said: the units participating in trade union activities are closely monitored by the higher-level trade union, requiring the units to fully implement the policies for employees, especially paying social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance. Although some units in the industry are facing many difficulties, they still ensure the implementation of policies for employees. At these units, employees feel secure in their work, contributing a lot to the process of stabilizing, sustainable development and improving the production and business efficiency of the enterprise. However, the rate of units with trade unions compared to units operating in construction in our province is very low. Currently, the industry trade union has only 20 enterprises with trade unions out of a total of more than 200 construction enterprises managed by the industry. In units without trade unions, workers are not very concerned about policies, they only care about one indicator: salary. The establishment of trade unions and trade union activities in those enterprises are extremely difficult and the industry trade unions are very concerned. Moreover, enterprises with trade unions in the industry are also very dissatisfied with the inequality in law enforcement of those enterprises (the amount of insurance evasion in non-state enterprises is very large).

Currently, trade unions at all levels are organizing congresses, leading up to the 17th Nghe An Trade Union Congress, term 2013-2018. Personnel work for the trade union congresses at all levels is receiving special attention from the Standing Committee of the Provincial Federation of Labor and the Federation of Labor of districts and industry trade unions. The congress is an opportunity to consolidate and strengthen the trade union organization. However, due to many difficulties, by September 6, about 37 grassroots trade unions were unable to organize congresses because their units were facing difficulties and had stopped production and business activities. And that number is only incomplete statistics from the districts, in reality this number is much larger.

Mr. Ngo Phuc Duong - Deputy Director of Vinh City Social Insurance said: For many reasons, trade union activities are difficult, and because of that, many businesses are avoiding paying social insurance for employees, affecting the rights of employees. By August 30, 2012, there were 828 units owing social insurance for 3 months or more with a total amount of 46 billion VND. Currently, the insurance agency is stepping up the urging and handling, but the situation is still very difficult.

Mr. Ngo Phuc Duong - Deputy Director of Vinh City Social Insurance

To achieve effectiveness and overcome formality, this work must be closely coordinated with functional agencies, especially the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, to strengthen propaganda and mobilization on labor law and trade union law for business owners and employees; to build a team of qualified trade union officials with negotiation skills to sign collective labor agreements with more beneficial content for employees. In particular, higher-level trade unions need to strengthen training on methods and trade union professional skills, on negotiation, and develop necessary documents related to the signing and trade union activities in the new situation. On the part of workers, it is necessary to determine the role of ownership, raise awareness of the law as well as improve their own skills.

"In addition, we believe that there should be a legal framework to handle violations. Business registration being too easy is also a difficulty for current trade union activities. There should be conditions when registering a business; there must be a commitment to establish a trade union when establishing a business." - Ms. Hanh and Mr. Quang share the same opinion.

Thu Huyen