A seminar was held in Ha Noi on Sept. 7 to discuss the role of trade unions in making salary policy, conducting payment and bonus policies, and raising salaries for workers in non-State and foreign-invested enterprises.

Pham Minh Huan, Director of the Wage and Salary Department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said at the workshop that production norms in non-State and foreign-invested enterprises have remained high and have not been based on qualifications and constitutions of labourers, as well as specific working conditions of the businesses.

As a result, many workers could not fulfill their production norms and have been forced to work overtime, Huan said, adding that this fact was one of the causes leading to labour disputes and strikes.

The official also revealed that salary scales and pay-sheets in these enterprises have remained inadequate, while trade unions have yet to actively participate in making and revising production norms and salary scales.

Participants proposed relevant agencies continue to study and instruct non-State and foreign-invested businesses about concrete ways to build production norms, salary scales, payrolls and payment regulations.

They suggested the establishment of a system to disseminate information about the labour market in order to help employers and employees reach agreement on production norms and incomes acceptable to both sides.

The participants also urged trade unions to take more practical measures to raise their role in enterprises with the aim of protecting legitimate and legal interests of workers. In addition, relevant agencies should tighten the supervision of and severely punish enterprises that break regulations on the salary policy, they stressed.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Source: VNA