Vietnam hopes for stronger labour ties with US

Workers at the Ford Hai Duong factory (Source: hanoimoi.com.vn)

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha has called on the US to enhance labour cooperation with Vietnam during a recent meeting with visiting US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai.

She shared the viewpoint of putting workers at the centre of policy building and implementation.

Ha also suggested some cooperation activities such as increasing financial and technical assistance for Vietnam; sharing experience to help the country perfect and carry out laws and policies on labour relations, employment, vocational training, and social affairs; improving the capacity of training high-quality human resources; promoting assistance in terms of humanitarian and social affairs; and helping Vietnam develop a comprehensive and universal social security system that guarantees social equality and leaves no one behind.

At the working session, the US Trade Representative said via cooperation in labour and social affairs, the US always hopes to step up the enforcement of worker-centred policies and considers this as the core issue to create the best conditions for workers.

Tai noted the USTR and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) highly value Vietnam’s implementation of the Labour Code that includes many new and progressive points matching international labour standards.

This is a stepping stone for strengthening ties in labour and social affairs between Vietnam and the US, she went on, adding that her country always attaches importance to the respect for and the protection of workers’ rights, and US businesses have to show their role and sense of responsibility towards the adherence to labour rules in host countries.

In recent years, Vietnam has made much progress in the building and perfection of labour policies and international integration in this regard. Notably, the Vietnamese ministry and the ILO signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in 2021 to promote international labour standards in Vietnam for 2021 - 2030, during which the country is expected to ratify another 15 ILO conventions.

Luu Quang Tuan, Director of the ministry’s International Cooperation Department, said that within the framework of cooperation with the ILO, the US has been helping the ministry carry out some effective projects, including those on labour relations, technical support, and improvement of the child labour prevention and reduction capacity.

Via cooperation activities, many organisations, especially non-governmental ones from the US, have also helped deliver support to tens of thousands of people to surmount difficulties and integrate into society, he added./.