Need to resolve problems in recruiting full-time union officials

Legalize the roles and responsibilities of trade union officials

With many years in the role of Chairman of the Trade Union of Haivina Kim Lien Company Limited (Nam Dan), Mr. Le Van Son shared: “Article 24, Law on Trade Unions of Vietnam 2012 stipulates that the time for non-professional trade union duties is 24 hours/month for Chairman, Vice Chairman of the grassroots trade union; 12 hours/month for Executive Committee members, Team leaders... In my opinion, a rigid regulation with a specific time limit like this is unreasonable. For a business with thousands of employees like ours, such time is not enough, too limited to complete the tasks and when it is rigidly regulated, it is very difficult for us to negotiate with the business owner. Should there be flexibility in time to suit each grassroots trade union?"

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I think that the process surrounding the term of office of union officials needs to be reviewed. Employers are not allowed to unilaterally terminate the labor contract, work contract, fire, force the employee to quit or transfer to another job for non-professional union officials without the written consent of the Executive Committee of the grassroots Union and the written consent of the Executive Committee of the immediate superior Union. In the case of a non-professional union official whose labor contract, work contract, force the employee to quit or illegally fire the employee, the grassroots superior Union has the responsibility to request the competent State agency to intervene; if authorized, the grassroots superior Union will represent the employee in filing a lawsuit in court to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the union official... Only then will union officials dare to stand up to protect the rights and interests of employees without fear of repression or interference from the employer.

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

Mr. Son's opinion is also the opinion of many union officials at the Workshop on the Draft Law on Trade Unions (amended) organized by the Provincial Federation of Labor. According to Mr. Son, it is necessary to increase the responsibility of employers for trade union activities by the provisions of the law. Only then can the organization of trade union activities, typically legal propaganda, be easily organized, helping workers have the opportunity to receive training.

Sharing the same viewpoint of enhancing the role of trade union officials in enterprises, Mr. Dang Van Hai - Chairman of the Education Trade Union, is concerned: “There should be regulations for trade union organizations in general, and grassroots trade union officials in particular, to participate in working sessions on socio-economic development and agencies and units. Every development of agencies and units, whether large or small, is associated with the contributions of union members and workers, directly related to the rights and responsibilities of union members and workers. As an organization that directly cares for and is close to workers, the trade union organization must grasp the development orientation of the unit”.

Not only is the role and position limited, in many agencies and units, union finances - which belong to the union - are controlled and interfered with by employers. "During the process of working and exchanging, we heard many union officials at other enterprises complain that the 2% union budget is not only monitored by employers but also managed, controlled, and interfered with by employers in terms of its purpose of use. Every time an activity is organized, the union executive committee must ask for permission, which makes organizing activities for union members and employees face many limitations. Sanctions in managing and regulating the use of union funds are still very loose, and need to be considered by lawmakers," said Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong - Chairwoman of the Southeast Economic Zone Union.

In order to promote the role of trade unions in participating in the inspection, examination and supervision of the activities of agencies, organizations and business units, many trade union officials proposed to allow trade unions to be provided with information by State management agencies and competent authorities when needed. Because, in reality, there is a lot of information that trade unions request from State agencies (Tax, Social Insurance, etc.) to determine whether enterprises are taking advantage of trade union funds to spend incorrectly or not, but some State agencies cannot provide it due to the lack of legal regulations.

Difficulties in attracting and recruiting union officials

Another issue that many Nghe An Trade Union officials are interested in is increasing the union's initiative in arranging staff and removing recruitment policies to attract experienced, full-time trade union officials who have grown up from the grassroots.

According to Decision No. 1617/QD-TLĐ dated December 31, 2014 of the Presidium of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, for grassroots unions with 1,000 union members subject to the calculation of the salary fund for social insurance contributions, 1 full-time union officer will be assigned to receive salary and allowances according to regulations from the union's financial resources; for every 1,500 additional union members, 1 full-time union officer will be assigned, but not more than 7 people receiving salary from the union's financial resources. However, in reality, up to now, the whole Nghe An province has only had 1 full-time union officer at an FDI enterprise (now retired) and 1 full-time union officer at a state-owned enterprise (Nghe An General Hospital).

“As a full-time union official in a state-owned enterprise, my work is basically smooth. However, for non-full-time union officials, receiving salaries from employers will prevent them from standing up to protect union members and workers, affecting the role and tasks of the union organization. I think that union officials must receive salaries and bonuses from the union budget to be able to wholeheartedly devote themselves to their tasks,” said Mr. Nguyen Sy Toan - Chairman of the Nghe An General Hospital Union.

There are also many opinions that the issue of the payroll management mechanism for trade union levels must be based on task requirements, and cannot be leveled in payroll allocation. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the initiative of trade unions in arranging the staff of trade union officials.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - Vice President of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union shared her opinion: “In the affiliated grassroots trade unions, it is not difficult for us to find potential factors with enough qualifications to become full-time trade union officials. However, the important thing is whether the trade union organization is attractive enough to attract them or not, with their “brainpower” and position in the enterprise, they can be paid a salary of tens of millions of VND per month. This salary level, the trade union organization cannot compete with”.

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In practice, the number of union officials at all levels is not commensurate with the requirements of the task. Right at our unit, when it was established, the allocated staff was 3 people, but now, the scale and number of grassroots unions, union members and workers have increased many times. In 2024 alone, there were 14 grassroots unions with 10,000 union members. With the current number of union officials, the union not only has difficulty operating but also cannot promptly care for and protect the rights of workers.

Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - Vice President of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union

The current shortcomings will be the human resource problem that the Vietnamese Trade Union in particular and lawmakers in general need to solve in the coming time.

Diep Thanh