Vietnam to Regulate Trade Unions and Wage Rates

Posted by Reading Time: < 1 minute

Aug. 25 – The Ministry of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affairs has been tasked to manage wage rate regulations at foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) for unskilled and skilled workers.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) said it will help expedite the establishment of grassroots trade-unions at FIEs. It added that only a third of operating FIEs had grassroots trade-unions despite the country’s labor code that required all companies to establish one within six months of obtaining their license.

The VGCL and the Ministry of Planning and Investment is calling for the return of trade-union fees at FIEs to revitalize trade union operations. The fees will compose of 1 percent of the FIEs’ payrolls and will be used to spend for trade unions and union management salaries.

This year alone, 500 strikes happened nationwide with 78 percent of them at FIEs. Most of the strikes complained about low wages, excessive overtime hours, unpaid social insurance and lack of communication between employers and workers.

FIEs pay Vietnamese workers a minimum salary range of US$47 to US$59 monthly depending on location.