A sponsorship signing ceremony took place in Hanoi on April 1 as part of a two-day seminar held by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to discuss labour relations and modification of Vietnam’s Labour and Trade Union Laws.

The money will help the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour strengthen trade unions at grassroots levels and assist the Vietnamese government in devising effective labour institutions - one of the main topics discussed at the seminar.

According to surveys by the local Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, most workers at FDI (foreign direct investment) enterprises, especially married ones, have difficult lives. Their average incomes are no higher than those of workers in other businesses, even though they have to work harder and longer.

As a result, strikes occur nationwide on various scales every year. Since 1995, there have been nearly 4,000 strikes, all of them spontaneous and none of them complying with the Labour Law. Almost 72 percent of the strikes occurred in the FDI sector and 95 percent of them were related to wages, according to statistics released by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.

Meanwhile, trade unionists in non-state businesses are usually amateurs paid only by the company owners, so they are not in a position to vociferously defend the rights of workers.

Huynh Than, a participant at the seminar, said trade unions - tools for safeguarding the legitimate rights and benefits of workers - tend to be ignored at quite a few businesses.

UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam John Hendra highlighted the importance of legally institutionalizing and harmonizing labour relations. He said legal modifications must take into account the basic principles of labour relations with a view to ensuring sustainable development.