Many points need to be clarified to protect Union members

Minimum number of years of residence required for union membership

According to Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong, each of the two options proposed in the draft Law has its own advantages and limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate more carefully the conditions of resources, leadership methods, and direction of trade unions towards foreign workers. The equality and differences between Vietnamese workers and foreign workers in exercising the rights and obligations of trade union members have specific characteristics and regulations on the implementation of rights and obligations between these groups of workers. It is necessary to propose clear solutions to overcome the limitations and shortcomings of language, culture, religion, politics ... to convey their requests correctly and fully to the competent authorities when the trade union organization protects their rights and interests but still maintains the functions and tasks of the trade union organization... Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the regulation of the minimum number of years (3 years or 5 years) that foreign workers must live and work in Vietnam before they are allowed to join the Trade Union organization, the purpose of regulating the minimum number of years is for foreign workers to have time to learn, research, and have a certain understanding of our laws, language, culture, religion, politics... From here, joining a new trade union organization will truly bring benefits to workers and promote the role and responsibility of the trade union organization towards workers, or we can choose to apply a pilot plan in some areas and localities to draw experience from practice, and then replicate it if it is truly effective.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Binh Thuan province gave comments to the National Assembly on the draft Law on Trade Unions (amended).

Full-time union officials in companies and enterprises should let their superiors pay their salaries.

The division of union funds between the upper-level union and the grassroots union and the employee organization in the enterprise is an important issue, demonstrating the openness and transparency of the management and use of union finances. Therefore, specific regulations such as Option 2 of the draft are appropriate. However, the proposed ratio should closely follow the spirit of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW on "Reviewing and amending the financial management mechanism and union funding sources to ensure strict management, openness, transparency and improved efficiency", as well as closely follow the actual operations of unions at all levels and anticipate issues arising in the coming time. At the same time, it should not be rigidly stipulated that "the grassroots trade union and the labor organization at the enterprise are allocated 75%" or "the superior trade union manages and uses 25%" but should be stipulated in the direction of "minimum 75%" and "maximum 25%" to ensure flexibility in the overall regulation of the entire system, depending on the scale of the trade union organization or by locality.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong emphasized: Trade unions in companies and enterprises are the ones who protect the rights and interests of workers in those companies and enterprises. However, one issue that needs attention is that the salary and expenses paid to trade union officials in companies and enterprises are paid by the owners of the companies and enterprises (employers). The question is whether trade union officials in those companies and enterprises really dare to speak up to protect workers when their rights are violated or not? And in practice, in the past, we have counted how many cases of lawsuits and complaints related to the legitimate rights and interests of workers in companies and enterprises where the trade unions have stood up to represent and protect the workers or not? How effective is it? Therefore, the factor of protecting workers here needs to be reviewed. In order for grassroots trade unions in non-state companies and enterprises to truly promote their role and responsibility in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, it is recommended that salaries, bonuses and other allowances for full-time trade union officials in companies and enterprises should be paid from the budget of the higher-level trade union, so that trade union officials can wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly perform their duties of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers in that company or enterprise...

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