Building a stronger Trade Union organisation

The first Dong Nai Provincial Trade Union Congress for the 2025-2030 tenure is an important political and social event, marking the journey of the Trade Union organisation in the past term and opening new directions and goals for the next period. With the motto “Solidarity – Democracy – Discipline – Innovation – Development,” the congress reflects the will and aspirations of union members and workers across the province, toward building an increasingly strong Trade Union organisation. 

Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial Labor Federation Bui Thi Bich Thuy. Photo: Nguyen Hoa

In an interview with Dong Nai Newspaper and Radio, Television, Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial Labor Federation Bui Thi Bich Thuy said the provincial Trade Union will continue to innovate its content and modes of operation to meet new requirements and tasks. At the same time, it will further promote its role in representing, caring for and protecting the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of union members and workers, effectively organise emulation movements, build a strong working class, and contribute to the province’s socio-economic development.

During the 2023–2025 period, the Dong Nai Trade Union fulfilled its assigned targets and tasks. Could you highlight the most notable results and hallmarks of its activities?

During the 2023–2025 period, the activities of the Dong Nai Trade Union recorded many positive changes. Most key targets were implemented effectively and achieved notable results. In particular, the role of representing, caring for and protecting workers’ rights was clearly demonstrated through close engagement, listening to the voices, thoughts and aspirations of union members and workers. The Trade Union closely coordinated with enterprises in dialogue and negotiations, signed new high-quality collective labor agreements, and strengthened inspection, supervision and legal support for workers when their rights were affected.

A major hallmark of the Dong Nai Trade Union is its care for union members and workers through many new models and effective approaches. Developing union membership and building grassroots Trade Unions have been identified as a key, decisive and vital task. Nearly 160,000 new union members were developed and 442 new grassroots Trade Unions were established across the province. Grassroots unions introduced more than 9,300 outstanding members to the Party, of whom 3,400 were admitted to the Party.

Notably, after Dong Nai implemented the two-tier local government model, the Provincial Labor Federation, as a member of the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front, reorganised the Trade Union apparatus in a streamlined, effective and efficient manner, ensuring smooth operations under the new model. The most significant hallmark of the term is the strong innovation in operational methods, a grassroots-oriented approach and placing workers at the center. This has helped strengthen members’ trust and maintain the trade union’s role within the political system and the business community.

Could you elaborate on specific models and programs that practically support workers’ lives, welfare and rights?

The Dong Nai Trade Union gives top priority to improving the lives and welfare of union members and workers. With the support of local authorities and the business community, many activities have been maintained and renewed, such as the Tet Reunion program, Workers’ Month, Mass wedding ceremonies, Trade Union Meals, and Trade Union trains and buses. These programs are implemented from provincial to grassroots levels, creating positive social impacts and strong spillover effects, clearly reflecting the humanity and responsibility of the trade union toward workers.

Leaders of the Dong Nai Labor Federation present gifts to 12 couples at a mass wedding ceremony

Over the past three years, Trade Unions at all levels supported the repair of 15 houses and the construction of 84 new “Trade Union Shelter” houses, each worth between VND 15–50 million. In addition, some grassroots unions coordinated with enterprises to support the construction and repair of 90 houses for union members and workers, with total funding of more than VND 4.7 billion. The program honoring children of workers and public employees who “study well - live well” has been maintained, with more than 324,000 children commended by trade unions at all levels, at a total cost of over VND 100 billion. Cultural, sports and workers’ festival activities have been vibrant, attracting large numbers of workers. These results demonstrate the trade union’s role and responsibility in improving workers’ material and spiritual lives.

Across the province, 431 new collective labor agreements were signed, bringing the total to 1,384 agreements at 1,690 enterprises with grassroots Trade Unions, a rate of nearly 82 percent. This is not only a telling figure but also evidence of a more substantive, worker-centered approach. In addition, the Provincial Trade Union Legal Advisory Center provided direct legal consultation to more than 7,500 workers and participated in protecting the rights of over 5,000 workers whose interests were violated. Legal communication and dissemination have been strengthened, contributing to higher legal awareness and the building of harmonious, stable and progressive labor relations.

The Patriotic Emulation Movement among workers, public employees and laborers has left a strong imprint. Could you share more about this?

The Patriotic Emulation Movement launched by Trade Unions at all levels in Dong Nai has generated strong momentum, attracting broad participation from workers and public employees across the province and spreading across many sectors and occupations. The Trade unions closely align these movements with the practical activities of agencies and enterprises, renewing movements to achieve positive outcomes and help units meet annual targets.

Specifically, in the administrative and public service sector, officials, civil servants and public employees actively engage in innovation and administrative reform, reduce cumbersome procedures for citizens, apply information technology, improve working styles, enhance advisory capacity and service quality, and build cultural-standard agencies. In educational field, the sectoral Trade Unions proactively implemented comprehensive solutions to turn emulation into a large-scale movement involving schools, administrators, teachers and students. In healthcare, union members compete to improve service styles and attitudes, aiming for patient satisfaction.

The “Good Labor – Creative Labor” movement among workers is a key highlight with encouraging results. It has created an environment for workers to promote initiatives, raise productivity, improve working conditions and foster a positive labor culture. The movement has contributed significantly to building a disciplined, responsible and skilled workforce in Dong Nai, meeting the enterprises’demands and the requirements of a new development stage. The Trade unions at all levels have organised various forms of commendation to recognize the dedication and contributions of union members and workers.

Dong Nai currently has more than 2,300 grassroots Trade Unions with nearly 742,000 members. The provincial Trade Union aims to build a strong workforce worthy of being a core and pioneering force in the country’s industrialisation and modernisation. It focuses on strengthening the Trade Union organisation, enhancing the capacity and qualifications of Trade Union officials to meet task requirements, and actively participating in Party and government building, contributing to the successful implementation of Dong Nai’s socio-economic development tasks.

For the 2025–2030 term, what breakthrough goals and solutions has the Dong Nai Trade Union set to better meet new demands?

Entering the new term, the Dong Nai Trade Union identifies membership development and building strong grassroots trade unions as a consistent central task. The goal is to expand Trade Union organisations in the non-state enterprise sector, where the workforce is large and dynamic, strive to establish more grassroots unions and increase coverage rates. At the same time, it will improve the quality of Trade Union officials, especially at the grassroots level, ensuring they have sufficient capacity, skills and knowledge to represent workers in increasingly complex labor relations.

Breakthrough solutions include strong innovation in operational methods and the application of digital transformation in membership management, communication and worker engagement; enhancing dialogue and negotiations; and developing more substantive member welfare programs. At the same time, the Trade Union will remain closely connected to grassroots levels, further improving the quality of care and protection of the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of union members and workers, while strengthening the organisation from the grassroots up to better meet workers’ needs and expectations in the new period.

By Nguyen Hoa – Translated by Thuc Oanh, Thu Ha