Labour agreements build productive businesses

HCM CITY — More than 70 per cent of HCM City’s 2,743 enterprises have signed collective labour agreements with their workers, according to statistics provided by the city’s Labour Federation.

Collective labour agreements specify things such as salaries and bonuses, health and safety, working hours and breaks, social insurance, and employees’ rights to strike.

The Government’s Labour Code states that a collective labour agreement must be signed by a trade union official and the head of a company or organisation. Negotiations between these two parties set down the rights of workers in the collective agreement.

This process often proves more effective in establishing workers’ rights than labour contract negotiations between individuals and their employer.

Each enterprise must set up its own trade union, which is in charge of protecting that enterprise’s workers’ rights.

Employer stake

"We signal a collective labour agreement with our workers because we are aware of its importance," Alexandre Lemoalle, chairman of Sanofi Aventis Viet Nam told Viet Nam Net. "Our employees work hard and contribute to the development of the company, so they deserve to be treated well."

The company’s agreement gives its employees family health insurance and up to 30 months paid absence in the event of an accident. The employees have also recently had their meal allowances increased.

Long-term relationships between our employees and the company are created by treating them well, said Lemoalle.

"Collective labour agreements establish workers’ rights and benefit enterprises," said Truong Lam Danh, vice chairman of HCM City’s Labour Federation. "They’re core for enterprises’ stability."

Workers only go on strike if their rights are violated or their needs are not met. Enterprises that sign and respect collective labour agreements are less likely to see worker discontent mushrooming into strike action.

Conflict between workers and their employers will still arise, however, if an enterprise fails to fulfil its obligations specified in a signed agreement, or if it will only agree to provide the minimum Labour Code requirements.

Collective agreements require a huge effort by trade union staff. The trade union has to convince an enterprise of the benefit of such agreements, said Danh.

As of the end of May, 330 collective strikes had broken out across the country this year, of which 118 were in HCM City.

To deal with the problem, the Labour General Federation’s chairman Dang Ngoc Tung has asked enterprise trade unions to push for the implementation of the Labour Code and union regulations. In particular, trade unions should focus on raising wages and developing insurance coverage.—VNS