Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (standing) speaks at the meeting

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to boost coordination with the Government to better ensure the legal and legitimate rights and interests of workers, at a working session with the VGCL Presidium in Hanoi on September 25.

He particularly requested the VGCL to work with ministries and relevant departments to address issues relating to wages, working hours, and social insurance for employees, aiming to improve the quality of Vietnam’s human resources in national construction and international integration.

The PM asked the trade union organisation to collaborate with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to solve labour-related matters as well as raise awareness of workers about complying with the Party and States’ policies and laws.

The VGCL should continue to actively engage in the process of building institutions, the PM said, calling attention to such matters as retirement age, working hours and quality of collective labour agreements.

Building harmonious labour relations is essential, he said, asking trade unions at all levels to grasp the thoughts and needs of workers and reinforce the close-knit relations between businesses and workers.

Both the Government and the VGCL shared the view that they have coordinated closely in the past year, as seen in the process of building legal documents, particularly those relate to labourers.

The VGCL called attention to the problems of settling overdue wages and social benefits for workers when their employers flee or go bankrupt. It urged the Government to propose adjustments to legal documents in the direction of prioritizing workers’ interests in such cases./.