Hanoi (VNA) 🔯– President Tran Dai Quang urged the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to reform trade union activities at his working session with the confederation in Hanoi on September 24.

Speaking at the event, the President emphasized that as the country’s international integration gains speed, the implementation of commitments to the ASEAN Community, the World Trade Organisation and new-generation free trade agreements will make many impacts on various aspects, including on workers and trade union organisations. As such, the VGCL and its chapters must renew their operations and diversify activities to gather workers, the President said, adding that attention should be paid to establishing trade unions at non-State enterprises. Trade union organisations must work harder to fulfil their roles of representing and protecting legitimate rights and interests of unionists and workers, as well as actively joining in the negotiation and signing of collective labour agreements and settlement of labour disputes. He also listened to a report detailing key tasks between now and the VGCL’s 12 th Congress in 2018, trade unions’ recommendations on building trade union institutions at industrial and processing zones, among others. The VGCL reported that it currently has 123,326 trade unions at the grassroots level and 9.2 million trade union members. Trade unions across the country have so far signed more than 26,100 collective labour agreements, accounting for 75.72 percent of firms having trade unions. On the occasion, VGCL and partners signed agreements on care for workers and trade unionists.-VNA