The whole province has 617 out of 700 enterprises with grassroots-level trade unions (or 88.1%) that have negotiated and signed CLAs, focusing on shift meals, working hours, breaks, sick leave, hardship allowances, and priorities for pregnant female workers and those raising babies.

Typically, Bac Giang LGG Garment Corporation Joint Stock Company in Lang Giang district gives employees one box of fresh milk a day to supplement nutrition; while Mplus Hanoi Co., Ltd. in Tan Yen district provides two special meals in the first and last days of the week with higher nutritional value for employees.

Italisa Vietnam Co., Ltd. in the Song Khe - Noi Hoang Industrial Park is a 100% foreign-owned enterprise specialising in the production of high-end alloy sanitary equipment. It is considered one of the companies with good care for the lives of employees.

In particular, as nearly 70% of the firm’s employees are female, the agreement also features many preferential policies such as women from the 7th month of pregnancy until giving birth supported with 80,000 VND (3.2 USD) per person per month; female workers with small child working 7 hours but being paid for 8 hours until the child is 12 months old.

Since 2020, eight strikes have happened in the province. The main causes were related to wages, working conditions, shift meals, and allowances. One of the important and effective solutions to stabilise labour relations and prevent strikes is to build a quality collective labour agreement.

Ha Van Kha, Chairman of the Lang Giang district Federation of Labour, said that all 59 enterprises with trade unions in the district have signed CLAs. “Our experience is to draft and issue own instructions on the negotiation process, emphasising the role of the agreement so that employers and employees coordinate in implementing,” he added.

Every year, on the basis of reviewing the number of newly established enterprises and the number of eligible enterprises to establish a trade union, the federation advises the district People's Committee to send dispatches directing enterprises to devise agreements associated with labour regulations; and assign staff to provide timely guidance.

The 18th Congress of the Bac Giang Trade Union identified "Promoting dialogue, collective bargaining, signing and implementing the collective labour agreements" as one of the breakthrough tasks of the 2023-2028 term, striving for 95% of the CLAs to have contents more beneficial to employees than the provisions of the law.

To achieve this target, the provincial Confederation of Labour has focused on directing the development of trade union members, encouraging the establishment of trade unions in enterprises, facilitating the process of building collective labour agreements; innovating dissemination work to help employers realise the positive role of the agreement.

In particular, a quality collective labour agreement with provisions more beneficial to employees is a measure of the capacity and mettle of trade union officials. Therefore, the provincial Confederation of Labour regularly organises training to improve knowledge, capacity, and dialogue and negotiation skills for grassroots-level trade union official. It also assigns officials with expertise and experience to guide and support the assessment of the agreement content for grassroots-level trade unions before signing.

Tuong Vi

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