Care about protecting workers' rights

(Baonghean) - Grassroots trade unions play a very important role in the operations of enterprises. Where the role of trade unions is promoted well, the rights of workers are guaranteed and of course the productivity and products that workers make for the enterprise also increase. However, the operation of this organization is currently facing many difficulties. So what is the solution to improve the efficiency of grassroots trade union operations in enterprises?

Protect workers' rights

One afternoon in late July, we visited the house of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai (Hamlet 12, Nghi Thuan Commune, Nghi Loc), one of the families of workers in difficult circumstances of Matrix Vietnam Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Bac Vinh Industrial Park). In a simple level 4 house, Ms. Hai confided: Born in 1985, after graduating from high school, she went to the South to work for hire, but it didn't work out, so after 2 years she returned to her hometown to find a job. At the end of 2009, she applied to work as a worker at Matrix Company - a foreign-invested company with a starting salary of 2.1 million VND/month. And she has been with the company since 2009 until now, although the highest monthly salary was only 2.6 million VND. With a meager worker's salary, two young children (the first child is 4 years old this year, the second child is over 2 years old), her husband's unstable job income, and her second son having a congenital heart disease, Ms. Hai's life is extremely difficult.

Faced with Ms. Hai's difficult situation, the Matrix Company's Trade Union decided to mobilize all workers to contribute to support Ms. Hai so that she could have funds for her son's heart surgery. In just a short time, the Trade Union called for support of Ms. Hai of 21 million VND (of which the company's workers contributed more than 12 million VND, the remaining amount was called for by the Trade Union from other organizations). Although the amount was not large, it has helped the family a lot in their extremely difficult circumstances. Ms. Hai said: Previously, the role of the Trade Union in the company was still very vague, so there were only a few strikes, but in the past few years, the company has paid more attention and created more favorable conditions for the Trade Union to operate. And the Trade Union has also promoted its role in protecting the rights of workers such as paying social insurance, health insurance, periodic health check-ups, etc. In particular, facing Ms. Hai's difficult situation, the Trade Union has also provided timely support. That made Ms. Hai feel that she needed to be more committed to the company. Therefore, although her income was still low and she did not know what else to do in her hometown, Ms. Hai returned to work at the company in early August.

Talking with Ms. Le Nguyen Dieu Linh - Chairman of the Trade Union of Matrix Company Limited, it is known that: Currently, the company has 2,300 employees, of which the total number of union members participating in the Trade Union is 1,540 people. Previously, the company's Trade Union did not really care about the rights of workers, but since the end of 2011, the Trade Union Executive Committee has gradually protected and organized many activities for workers. Due to the nature of the work, the Trade Union has stipulated that on the 25th of each month, the Trade Union will visit and encourage sick workers (50 thousand VND/person), those who have lost their parents (150 thousand VND/case), those who give birth, get married (100 thousand VND/case), give birthday gifts to workers in the month... This list is compiled by the factories and sent to the Trade Union Executive Committee every month. In addition, on holidays such as September 2, New Year, Lunar New Year, etc., the Union always gives gifts to workers in difficult circumstances. To encourage the children of workers to study well, every year at the beginning of the new school year, the Union organizes giving gifts to the children. Although not much, it has greatly encouraged the children's learning spirit as well as the working attitude of the workers in the company. Since the beginning of 2014, in addition to supporting heart surgery for the child of worker Nguyen Thi Hai, the Company's Union has also carried out procedures so that the child can receive subsidies from the "Heart for Children" fund and has been approved by competent authorities with an amount of 30 million VND. In addition, with the support of the higher-level Union, worker Nguyen Thi Ha in Hung Nguyen also received 40 million VND from the "Union Shelter" fund to have the conditions to rebuild her dilapidated house.

Representatives of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union and Matrix Company Limited Trade Union presented gifts to support heart surgery for the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai - a worker at Matrix Company.

Or like BSE Company Limited in Nam Cam Industrial Park - one of the companies with a large number of employees (4,200 workers, of which the total number of union members is 3,385 people). Although it has only been established for 6 months, there are still many surprises and difficulties, but the company's Union has organized a number of activities for employees. Ms. Tran Thi Quynh Yen - President of the Trade Union said: "As a Korean electronics company, the average income of workers is about 3.8 million VND/month, with overtime in some months fluctuating from 4 to 5 million VND. Realizing that in addition to stressful working hours, workers have little time to exchange cultural and sports activities, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Trade Union, the Company's Trade Union Executive Committee coordinated to organize the music talent search contest "BSE Idol season 1". This is the second time we have organized cultural exchanges for workers. It is expected that at the end of October, we will organize the Miss BSE beauty contest. And also in the fourth quarter, the Company's Trade Union will deploy training on occupational safety and hygiene and fire prevention for all workers".

Or like Omya Vietnam Co., Ltd. (100% foreign capital), to ensure the health of workers, the company's Union negotiated with the employer to buy health insurance for workers at 4 million VND/person/year, buy labor protection equipment, and provide periodic health check-ups for workers...

And the solutions

It can be said that although there have been some changes in the activities of grassroots trade unions in companies, in general, many grassroots trade unions have not operated effectively, and the role of trade unions in representing and protecting the legitimate and legal rights and interests of workers is still vague. Most grassroots trade union officials work part-time, have little time for trade union activities, have little knowledge of the law, do not have a firm grasp of trade union operations, lack trade union activity skills and are dependent on their employers for work and wages, so many trade union officials do not dare to do things differently from their employers. On the other hand, many employers are very concerned about the establishment of grassroots trade unions and do not care about creating conditions for grassroots trade unions to operate. Meanwhile, state sanctions are not strong enough to handle enterprises that violate the Labor Law, there are no sanctions to handle violations of the Trade Union Law and the handling of violations is not strict.

From 2009 to 2013, through 285 inspections at 2,241 units on the implementation of policies for workers, it showed that: the situation of signing labor contracts, building collective labor agreements, ensuring labor safety and hygiene, participating in social insurance, health insurance for workers in non-state enterprises still has many shortcomings... Labor disputes are increasing, recently there have been hundreds of individual labor disputes, dozens of illegal strikes have occurred consecutively...

Specifically, from 2009 to 2014, there were 17 strikes in the province. These strikes were mainly spontaneous strikes by workers to demand their rights, such as: salary increases, improved quality of mid-shift meals, reduced overtime, establishment of unions, increased allowances, etc. The number of strikes tends to increase rapidly, increasing from 4 to 5 each year. The number of people participating in the strike is large (at Matrix Company Limited in 2008, 2012 with nearly 3,000 participants; at Prex Vinh Company Limited with 2,600 participants, BSE Company Limited with 1,000 participants...). The strike duration is long, many of which last for weeks (Matrix 2012). Strikes occur continuously at FDI companies, affecting the investment attraction environment... Most of the above strikes do not follow the correct procedures and are not led by grassroots unions...

Talking with Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - Vice President of the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union: Currently, the Southeast Economic Zone Trade Union has 21 grassroots trade union units with 6,895 union members, including 7 FDI enterprises. The Southeast Economic Zone is also one of the places with the most strikes in recent times. The important thing is that after the strikes, companies have gradually seen the need to strengthen the trade union organization. For example, BSE Company Limited then organized a direct dialogue between provincial leaders, company leaders and workers to find a common voice. Matrix Company Limited created conditions for the Trade Union Executive Committee to organize activities such as: providing legal advice to workers, distributing propaganda on reproductive health for female workers, etc.

To improve the effectiveness of grassroots trade unions in enterprises, first of all, grassroots trade unions must have measures to overcome the "administrative disease" in trade union activities. Innovation in forms and methods of operation requires breakthrough reform actions. On the part of grassroots trade unions: it is necessary to select and prioritize a number of key activities such as effectively participating in negotiations, building collective labor agreements, and organizing social dialogue at the workplace. To do this well, grassroots trade unions need to enhance their understanding of legal policies, grasp information from workers, especially issues related to working conditions and income. Gathering workers' opinions is based on the principle of reflecting the wishes of the majority, and at the same time must be consistent with the capabilities of the enterprise. In addition, grassroots trade unions need to coordinate with employers to effectively organize labor emulation movements, contributing to increasing labor productivity and doing a good job of propagating and educating workers about legal regulations, discipline awareness, and industrial style. To effectively address the limitations of enterprise trade unions, it is necessary to have closer leadership and direction from Party committees at all levels and have a mechanism for coordination, supervision, and synchronous handling by State management agencies at all levels and trade unions at all levels to effectively implement the Labor Law and the Trade Union Law.

Thanh Thuy