The remark was made by Nguyen Thi Hong, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) at a seminar on policies for female workers held in Hanoi on September 25.

She added that it is necessary to focus on reaching collective agreements with special clauses for female workers.

Delegates at the seminar agreed that Vietnam’s legal system has been perfected with regulations on labour policies in general and specific clauses for female workers in particular. The Party and State policies as well as legal documents such as the Law on Gender Equality and the Labour Code are aimed at creating equal opportunities for female workers, especially in the field of labour to enjoy better working conditions, health care, as well as spiritual and material quality.

Le Van Trinh, Director of the National Institute for Labour Protection (NILP) said that there remain shortcomings in terms of the working environment and the health situation of labourers in general, and female workers in particular, such as environmental pollution. According to a survey by NILP, up to 40.26 percent of labourers, mostly female workers are infected with environment-related diseases such as rhinitis, bronchitis and sinusitis.

Regarding the implementation of the labour law, particularly policies for female workers, in many enterprises, female workers have not yet fully enjoyed their rights. According to a recent survey by VCGL, in some industrial parks and enterprises with a huge majority of female workers, up to 10 percent of them lost their jobs during their pregnancies. Most workers have to work overtime at a low monthly salary of VND1-1.8 million.