The United Nations (UN) will fund $2 million to help Vietnam build labor institutions and improve the capabilities of trade unions to support local workers, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te newspaper reported April 2. An agreement on the issue was signed in Hanoi on Apr 1 as part of a two-day seminar held by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) to discuss labor relations and renewal of the local Labor and Trade Union Laws. In fact, most workers at FDI (foreign direct investment) enterprises, especially married ones, have difficult lives. Their average incomes are no higher than those of workers in other businesses, even though they have to work harder and longer, according to surveys by the local Institute of Workers and Trade Unions. Strikes occur nationwide on various scales every year. Since 1995, Vietnam has recorded around 4,000 strikes, all of them spontaneous and none of them complying with the Labor Law. Almost 72% of the strikes occurred in the FDI sector and 95% of them were related to wages, according to statistics released by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. Meanwhile, trade unionists in non-state businesses are usually amateurs paid only by the company owners, so they are not in a position to vociferously defend the rights of workers. UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam John Hendra highlighted the importance of legally institutionalizing and harmonizing labor relations, noting legal modifications must take into account the basic principles of labor relations with a view to ensuring sustainable development.
