Dong Nai Labour Union strengthens grassroot labour unions

Reporter: Dongnai is one of the provinces that attract a great number of workers from outside. Would you like to let me know how the Provincial Trade Union care for the spiritual and cultural lives for the workers, especially accommodations for them?

Caring for the spiritual and cultural lives and accommodations for the workers is a regular work of the provincial trade union. While the price skyrockets like now, not only workers but also businesses are fraught with difficulties. Therefore, leaders of the Union have worked with businesses to share the common difficulties with workers. Providing accommodations for workers is a big issue, not only for Dongnai but also HCMC and Binh Duong.

However, to give more support to the workers, we are going to implement Resolution No.9 of the Provincial People's Committee on providing accommodations for workers and low-paid labourers. Besides, the province has asked the localities where a great number of workers live in rooms for rent to collect the electricity and water fees as the same rate as those paid by the local residents. Leaders of grassroot trade unions have also worked with businesses to ask them to support each worker between VND50,000 and VND100,000 a month. Generally speaking, housing for workers in the province is solved pretty well so there have not been any urgent matters. The whole province has 14 sections of rooms for rent that have committed themselves preventing social evils and drugs taking from happening.

Not only housing, the Union has also cared for the spiritual lives for the workers. It collaborates with businesses to organize recreational activities for them, for example, the recent cross-country competition held for over 2500 workers working for Nike’s partners.

Reporter: There are 27 industrial zones over Dongnai with thousands of workers so how are activities of youth union’s members going on? What are the Union’s solutions to enhance its role in ensuring the workers’ rights?

Huynh Tan Kiet: Presently, Dong Nai Trade Union has 380,000 youth union’s members out of 450,000 workers. Within the past time, the role of trade union in caring for the workers’ health and ensuring their legal rights are greatly paid attention to. The Union strengthens cooperation with leaders of businesses to improve the workers’ working and living conditions. Besides, it also focuses on enhancing law awareness and popularizing latest provisions of labour law for workers.

The most difficult thing for the trade union is how to adapt with the workers’ circumstances today. To effectively popularize provisions of law, it is necessary to have proper methods suitable to the workers’ conditions as they do not have much time. Therefore, the leaders of the union have to reform the popularization methods such as disseminating at rooms for rent, providing pocket handbooks, brochures and so on. The fundamental purpose is to help the workers with limited free time to be able to access the basic provisions of law so that they can protect for their rights.

Grassroot trade unions have made effort in doing their duties. However, to gain more efficiency will meet with difficulties due to the development and changes of the economy as well as the constant evolution of labour force in the province.

Reporter: On the occasion of 79^th anniversary of Vietnam Labour Union and the 8^th Congress of Dong Nai Labour Union, what are the coming duties of the trade union to improve its operation?

Huynh Tan Kiet: In the coming time, the provincial union will focus on strengthening the grassroot unions and building a stable, harmonious and progressive relation between the workers and businesses. In term of regulations, the trade union chair is voted by workers but the difficult thing is that lives of the union members are attached to the businesses’ benefits, which make some people not to devoted themselves to protecting the workers’ rights. We will try to enhance the role and the position of the workers and each grassroot trade union must be an actual representative of the workers’ rights.

Reporter: Thank you for this conversation. I wish you good health.

Reported by Nguyen Le, Translated by T.V