Source: laodong.com.vnHCM City (VNA) – The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and Oxfam Vietnam jointly held a conference in Hanoi on November 13 to discuss ways to strengthen the role of trade union in representing and protecting informal labourers.
According to Dang Quang Dieu, head of the VGCL’s Department of Socio-economic Policies, Emulation and Reward, although informal employment has an important role in the economy, it always includes the latent risk of unemployment, poverty and social inequality.
The majority of informal labourers, who are not protected by trade unions, are working without a contract and social or unemployment insurance, with unstable jobs and incomes, and without any allowance or welfare, Dieu noted.
He added that the sector receives limited encouragement and support through specific policies from the State.
During the conference, participants also voiced concerns about relevant issues that needed adjusting, including an obliged, legally binding labour contract for informal labour with sections on payment, working time, leave allowance, labour safety and hygiene.
They also pointed to the need to design suitable taxation policies, as well as capital support to optimise the labourers’ potential.
The State should also amend legal regulations in social and health insurance, with an aim to give more support and rights to the labourers, while strengthening the role of trade unions in representing and protecting their rights, they said.
Van Thu Ha, a representative from Oxfam Vietnam, held that in the coming time, Vietnam’s trade union should draw up a clear, specific strategy to encourage informal labourers to join trade unions, expanding welfare for informal labourers and implementing the International Labour Organisation’s recommendation on facilitations the transition from the informal to the formal economy.
According to a joint study by France’s Research Institute for Development in Vietnam and the General Statistics Office, informal employment accounts for nearly 90 percent of total jobs in Vietnam, with 50 percent in agriculture, 14.3 percent in informal businesses, 10.8 percent in non-regular and freelance jobs and 14.9 percent in formal enterprises.-VNA
