Coordinated efforts are needed.

(Baonghean)The Provincial Federation of Labor (LĐLĐ) manages 21 district, city, and town-level LĐLĐs and 9 industry-specific trade unions, with 4,409 grassroots trade unions and 130,000 union members. The leadership relationship between the Party organization and the trade union organization throughout the system is not yet synchronized or unified. At the grassroots level, the Party branch or Party committee of the agency or enterprise directly leads the grassroots trade union in carrying out political tasks. At the higher levels, the Party organization and the trade union organization begin to show inconsistencies. Grassroots trade unions in agencies, units, and enterprises are managed by the district LĐLĐ or industry-specific trade union, but the Party organization is subordinate to multiple Party committees, making coordinated leadership very difficult.

The Trade Union of the Provincial Farmers' Association organized a "Gentlemen in the Kitchen" competition to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th. Photo: Thanh Le

According to Mr. Do Dinh Quang, Chairman of the Vinh City Federation of Labor Unions, the city's Federation of Labor Unions manages 211 grassroots trade unions, but the Party branches (Party committees) in these units are managed by multiple levels of Party committees. The Party branches of 82 secondary schools, primary schools, and kindergartens are managed by the Party committees of wards and communes. In 55 non-state-owned enterprises (including 12 cooperatives), any unit with a Party branch is directly under the Party committee of the ward or commune; only 9 state-owned enterprises have Party branches directly under the Party Committee of the Enterprise Bloc. Central units located in the area, if they are enterprises, have Party organizations under the Party Committee of the Enterprise Bloc or the company's Party committee; if they are administrative and public service agencies, their Party organizations are under the Party Committee of the Provincial Agencies Bloc. Only 40 public service units have Party branches (Party committees) directly under the City Party Committee, and grassroots trade unions directly under the Vinh City Federation of Labor Unions. Mr. Do Dinh Quang commented: "The system of Party and trade union organizations needs to be synchronized and unified for the implementation of resolutions and policies to be effective."

Within the sectoral trade union system, while there is greater unity between the Party organization and the trade union organization, there is still a lack of synchronization. Party branches in agencies, units, and enterprises located in the districts are all directly under the district Party committees, but some grassroots trade unions are under the district Labor Federation, while others are under the sectoral trade union. The Trade Union of Agriculture and Rural Development manages 75 grassroots trade unions throughout the sector (including central units), with only 5 directly under the district Labor Federation. After the Provincial Party Committee reorganized the grassroots Party organizations, 20 units under the sector located in Vinh City transferred their Party branches (Party committees) to the Department's Party Committee, resulting in more unified Party leadership over the trade union. However, there are still 55 units with grassroots trade unions managed by the sectoral trade union but whose Party organizations are not directly under the Department's Party Committee. The Education Sector Trade Union manages 120 grassroots trade unions in schools (high schools, continuing education centers, ethnic boarding schools), but the Party branches of these units are all under the direct control of the district, city, and town Party committees, not the Party Committee of the Department of Education and Training. The district education trade unions manage the grassroots trade unions of junior high schools, primary schools, and kindergens, and the Party branches of these schools are all under the direct control of the commune and ward Party committees.

The Party Committee of the Provincial Labor Union has 8 branches with 44 Party members, including the branches of the office's departments and the Nghe An Labor Newspaper branch. The Party Group of the Provincial Labor Union was established according to Regulation No. 4253-QĐ/TU dated May 28, 2013, of the Provincial Party Standing Committee (comprising the chairman, vice-chairmen, and head of the organization department) and is responsible to the Provincial Party Committee for leading the implementation of political tasks within the trade union system. However, the leadership role of the Party through the Party Group has several limitations: the Party Group is not a Party committee, does not have the function of issuing resolutions, and is not a superior level to the grassroots Party organizations. The Party Group is responsible for personnel matters but only makes decisions within the Provincial Labor Union office and 5 affiliated units.

For leading officials of the district-level Labor Federations and industry-specific trade unions, the Party Committee only coordinates with the district, city, and town Party Committees and the Party Committees of departments to nominate personnel; in this coordination, the final decision rests with the Party Committees at all levels. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation and Party Secretary Nguyen Tu Phuong stated: “The Party Committee is responsible for personnel work and leading the implementation of the political tasks of the entire trade union organization system through approving, assigning, and directing the implementation of annual plans. The leadership role of the Party organization is promoted through the Party members.” Thus, the role of the Party Committee is mainly to coordinate in personnel work and direct the implementation of plans, and has not yet fully promoted the comprehensive leadership role of the Party within the trade union organization system. To overcome this situation, the Deputy Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, Dau Van Thanh, raised three issues that need to be addressed: Trade unions must reorganize their structure rationally to promote the leadership role of the Party; strengthen the structure of trade union officials in Party committees at all levels; There is a need for regulations on coordinated leadership between the Party organization and the trade union organization.

Regarding the reorganization of trade unions, the Provincial Party Committee's plan for reorganizing grassroots Party organizations clearly states: After reorganizing grassroots Party organizations, mass organizations must proactively reorganize to suit the new structure. It is suggested that all grassroots trade union organizations in the district should be brought under the District Labor Federation to ensure consistency with the Party organization system; the principle that the trade union organization should be under the jurisdiction of the same level as the Party organization should be implemented.

The placement of trade union officials in Party committees has received more attention from various sectors and localities. Of the 21 district-level Trade Union Federation Chairpersons, 18 are members of the district, city, or town Party Committees. Some sector-specific trade union chairpersons also participate in the Party Committees of their respective departments. In the health sector, the Trade Union Chairperson is the Deputy Secretary of the Department's Party Committee. Several district-level Trade Union Federation Chairpersons are also representatives in the People's Council at the same level. Trade union officials often hold multiple positions. While this allows for better coordination and leadership, it can also lead to excessive meetings and a lack of focus on trade union activities.

Regarding coordination regulations, currently the Provincial Labor Union only signs annual coordination agreements with the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Social Insurance Agency, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Provincial Women's Union; the Party Committee does not yet have a coordination regulation for leadership with the district, city, and town Party Committees and the Party Committees of the departments. Due to the lack of a coordination regulation, there is a situation where: the full-time staff of the industry trade unions and district labor unions are managed by the Provincial Labor Union in terms of staffing and salary, but personnel decisions are made by the district, city, and town Party Committees and the Party Committees of the departments; the activities of the district labor unions and industry trade unions are assigned by the leaders of the districts and departments, with the Provincial Labor Union only monitoring and inspecting. The Party Committee of the Provincial Labor Union needs to develop a coordination regulation with the district, city, and town Party Committees, the Party Committees of the departments, the Party Committee of the Provincial Agencies Bloc, the Party Committee of the Enterprises Bloc, and the Party Committees of the companies to lead the trade union organization. The Party branches of industry trade unions and district labor unions also need to have a coordination regulation with the Party branches of the agencies and units. Party committees of communes and wards provide guidance to grassroots trade unions.

Given the current disharmony between Party organizations and trade union organizations, simply adjusting the organizational structure is insufficient. The Party's organizational structure is already in accordance with the Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam and cannot be adjusted to align with the trade union's structure. Similarly, the trade union system at all levels is organized according to the Charter of the Vietnam Trade Union and cannot be altered. The only optimal solution is to establish a coordination mechanism between Party committees at all levels and trade unions at all levels, with the goal of maximizing the Party's leadership role over trade union organizations.

Tran Hong Co