Strengthening propaganda to raise workers' awareness

​Workers of Topbank Vietnam Co., Ltd during working hours

Actively propagate for workers

According to the Provincial Confederation of Labor, in the past year, along with protecting and taking care of workers' lives, trade unions at all levels in the province have stepped up propaganda, popularization and legal advice for workers in various enterprises. Consequently, the contingent of employees has improved their understanding of the law, well complied with the Party's guidelines and the State's laws and policies; have legal knowledge to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

The highlight in the propaganda work is that the Provincial Confederation of Labor has successfully organized an online contest to learn about labor laws, attracting thousands of laborers across the province to participate. With the exam sections related to the benefits and policies of employees, employees can easily participate in answering pre-prepared multiple-choice questions. Provincial Confederation of Labor encouraged workers to participate by awarding prizes by date and at the end of the competition. This is a useful form of propaganda using information technology, in order to equip basic legal knowledge, raise awareness of law compliance among union members and employees.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Vice Chairman of Long Khanh City Confederation of Labor, said that in the past 2 years, due to the influence of the Covid-19 epidemic situation, the direct organization of labor law propaganda sessions for employees encountered many problems. But besides encouraging and encouraging employees to participate in the competition to learn labor laws organized by the superior trade union, the city's labor union has actively developed programs and plans to propagate, disseminate and educate the law by the online form, contributing to raising the awareness of law observance, ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of employees.

At Trang Bom District, on weekend evenings, district Labor Union officials often combine with a core group of workers to go to dormitories crowded with workers to propagate labor laws and security and order. During the propaganda sessions, Trade Union officials listened and answered in detail the questions of interested employees such as: labor contract, maternity welfare, benefits enjoyed during working process, etc. Since then, employees have more knowledge for themselves when working at enterprises.

Mr. Le Van Nhan, working at KenDa Rubber Company Limited, Trang Bom District said: “We are very excited to be able to participate in the evening labor law propaganda sessions organized by the District Trade Union. In fact, many employees when coming to the company to work do not understand their benefits and welfare, so they still suffer many disadvantages. Many people have been laid off, or dismissal without knowing the reason. Therefore, participating in useful propaganda sessions will help employees firmly know their rights and be ready to speak up if the company implements policies that are contrary to the law."

There are still certain limitations

Although many positive results have been achieved in propaganda for employees, the reality shows that improving legal knowledge for employees through propaganda is still difficult. Trade union officials said that the current level of awareness of employees is not equal, which is one of the reasons why the transfer of legal knowledge is still limited. This requires those who do the work of propagandizing and disseminating the law to innovate their propaganda methods to ensure the ability to access the law for employees.

A representative of the Trade Union of Bien Hoa Industrial Zone said that in addition to improving their qualifications and skills to meet job requirements, workers also need to be well equipped with legal knowledge, actively protect their rights and legitimate interests. In particular, in the work of propagandizing and disseminating the law to employees, the content focuses strongly on issues that employees care about such as jobs, wages, social insurance, occupational safety and health, vocational training, etc.

Mr. Ho Thanh Thuy, Chairman of the Trade Union of Taicera Ceramics Co., Ltd., Long Thanh District said that in order to effectively propagate labor laws to workers, the upper-level trade union needs to have innovation in propaganda. In fact, at present, in non-state enterprises, employees are only allowed to participate in limited number of propaganda sessions and the time is also limited. Therefore, in the process of propaganda for employees, the content should be short so that the employees can hear, understand and absorb the most. Since then, the propaganda has been effective and even the employees who are illiterate, they also understand their rights to protect themselves if they unfortunately fall into the case of illegal dismissal by the company.

According to the Provincial Confederation of Labor, one of the leading solutions to build a harmonious, stable and progressive labor relationship in enterprises is to improve the understanding of the law for employees. With knowledge of the law, employees will have a sense of compliance and can protect their legal rights, thereby limiting labor disputes. Therefore, in the coming time, the Provincial Confederation of Labor will strengthen the diversity of forms of propaganda and dissemination of the law, choosing suitable forms for employees to easily absorb, understand and remember. Along with oral and written communication, Trade Unions at all levels will promote law propaganda through the media, social networks, etc.

Phong Lan