Turn difficulties into advantages to develop union members and grassroots unions

Many ways to do

In 2024, the Hai Duong Labor Federation identified the development of union members and grassroots unions as a key task in building a strong union organization. Unions at all levels in the province strive to develop 22,000 new union members. However, achieving the set plan is not easy. The reason is that there are still business owners who find ways to delay and avoid establishing grassroots unions. Meanwhile, workers are still unclear about their legitimate rights, so they are not interested in and attached to the union organization. Low remuneration, increasing workload and the number of union members are putting great pressure on full-time union officials.

In order to turn difficulties into advantages, trade unions at all levels have implemented many specific solutions. The Industrial Park Trade Union has reorganized the steering groups for developing union members and grassroots trade unions. This unit is responsible for coordinating with functional agencies to survey, collect statistics, and grasp the situation of workers and laborers at enterprises. From there, identify the subjects to focus on mobilizing union members and establishing grassroots trade unions. In addition, actively promote the role and responsibility of trade unions in protecting the rights of workers and the interests of workers when participating in trade unions.

Mr. Pham Hong Hai, Chairman of the Provincial Industrial Park Trade Union, said that in recent times, the number of foreign enterprises investing in industrial parks has continuously increased. With the spirit of "Where there are workers, there are trade unions", the unit has proactively contacted and met with enterprises to mobilize and persuade them; regularly coordinated to organize practical activities for workers. This is a core activity in developing union members and promoting harmonious and progressive labor relations in enterprises.

"Since the beginning of the year, 14 enterprises in the industrial park have established grassroots unions with 691 union members. Compared to the target assigned by the Provincial Federation of Labor, it has exceeded 71% in terms of developing union members and grassroots unions," said Mr. Hai.

Identifying the grassroots trade union as the foundation of the trade union organization, the Cam Giang District Labor Federation has had many creative ways to gather workers to participate in the trade union organization. According to Ms. Ho Thi Hien, President of the District Labor Federation, Cam Giang is a locality with strong industrial development in the province. With a relatively large number of enterprises and workers, the trade union organization must be close and responsible. Therefore, the unit has focused on organizing conferences, dialogues, and discussions to listen to the thoughts and aspirations of workers. Coordinate with the social insurance sector to review businesses that are eligible to establish grassroots trade unions. From there, develop a plan to approach business owners and workers to propagate and mobilize.

In addition to traditional forms of propaganda, the Cam Giang District Labor Federation also effectively uses social networking sites to introduce activities and plans of the industry and locality. Thereby, contributing to the dissemination of policies and laws to a large number of workers. To date, the Cam Giang District Labor Federation has 130 grassroots unions with about 12,700 union members. Compared to 2023, there is an increase of 7 grassroots unions with 512 union members, exceeding the annual plan by 17%.

Innovation in attracting workers

In January 2024, the Labor Federation of Cam Giang District held a ceremony to admit 150 union members and establish the Trade Union of Micron Vietnam Glasses Manufacturing Company Limited in Luong Dien Commune. This is a rare grassroots trade union in the province that was established before the company officially began operating.

According to Ms. Ho Thi Quyen, President of the Trade Union of Micron Vietnam Optical Manufacturing Company Limited, immediately after its establishment, the trade union has deployed propaganda and dissemination to union members and employees about the Trade Union Law and the Labor Code. Thereby, helping everyone better understand their rights and responsibilities when standing in the union team. On the other hand, to help union members feel secure in production, the trade union quickly built a collective labor agreement with many contents outside the law; promptly resolved many difficulties and problems of employees. To date, the Micron company trade union has grown to 235 union members.

The material and spiritual life of workers has been improved thanks to the significant contribution of the trade union organization. This is also an important factor in attracting workers to join the trade union organization. Mr. Le Van Thinh, a worker at Jin Xun Technology Co., Ltd. (Cam Giang) said: "In May 2024, the company established a grassroots trade union. Since the trade union organization was established, we have felt more secure in our work. Because our rights are always protected by trade unions at all levels. The company's welfare policies, salaries and bonuses always adhere to regulations. Up to now, 100% of the company's staff and workers are union members."

According to the leader of the Provincial Federation of Labor, recently the unit has proactively changed new content, improve the quality of grassroots trade union activities, contribute to attracting and gathering workers to participate in trade union organizations. In particular, the Provincial Federation of Labor has completed the Steering Committee for developing union members, established grassroots trade unions for the period 2023-2028. Every year, it will conduct surveys and grasp the development situation of enterprises and workers to build appropriate plans for developing union members and grassroots trade unions. Strengthen training and fostering for union officials on theories and professional skills for developing union members in the new situation...

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyet, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation, said that the unit is focusing on urging and directing the establishment of 3 unions in the informal sector. It is expected that this will be a union organization with many exciting and practical activities, attracting the participation of a large number of workers and laborers...