HANOI (Reuters) -Communist-ruled Vietnam is expected to ratify this year the UN convention for the free establishment of trade unions, UN officials and diplomats said, in a move meant to cut risks of trade disputes but likely leaving some foreign companies uneasy. The long-delayed measure would be a major formal step in the tightly controlled one-party nation where the only existing national trade union operates within the Communist Party structure, although it is unclear how and when the convention, once ratified, would be actually applied. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub, which is home to factories of international companies including Samsung Electronics, Intel, Foxconn and Canon, is highly reliant on commerce, which last year exceeded 160% of the $415 billion domestic economy.
In response to a programme on 1 million initiatives to overcome difficulties and fight the COVID-19 pandemic launched by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), trade unions at all levels in Hanoi had registered 130,569 initiatives as of August 3, surpassing the target of 130,000 proposed by the city Confederation of Labour.
The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) held a ceremony in Hanoi on June 4 to honour the role models in patriotic emulation movements, an activity in celebration of 75 years since then President Ho Chi Minh issued an appeal for patriotic emulation (June 11, 1948).
Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union (VFTU) on May 29 held a communication event aiming to raise awareness of union members on national sovereignty over seas and islands as well as on the prevention and combat of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
About 150,000 new jobs will be created in the second quarter of this year, including 28,200 in electronics and optical device manufacturing, 18,600 in food processing, and 4,700 in beverage production, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) predicted.