A revised Article 10 of the 2013 Constitution, which took effect on June 16, 2025, says: “The Vietnam Trade Union is the sole representative of workers at the national level in labor relations and international trade union relations.” This legal status elevates the Trade Union’s role and creates an urgent need for reform to meet the demands of global integration.
A representative organization with sufficient capacity and courage to protect workers
As Vietnam enters a new stage of development, the Trade Union faces unprecedented demands from a changed labor structure, a growing number of workers in the private and informal sectors, automation, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation, which are having profound impacts on employment, income, and workers’ professional skills. Labor relations are operating under an improved market-based mechanism.
These changes require the Trade Union to better perform its role and become a representative force with sufficient capability, courage, and modern methods to protect workers in the new environment.
Instead of relying on traditional movements, during the next term, the Trade Union will adopt a more comprehensive approach that places workers at the center and takes action at the grassroots level. The Trade Union will use dialogue and collective bargaining to protect workers early, right from the policy-making process and law enforcement oversight.
At the same time, digital transformation, science, technology, and innovation will serve as driving forces to improve operational efficiency.
A new era for the Trade Union must also be a new era for grassroots unions. This mindset requires trade union officials to closely engage with workers’ daily lives.
Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour Ngo Duy Hieu said the Congress has received tens of thousands of opinions and recommendations from workers nationwide. “Workers are deeply concerned about raising the minimum wage to a living wage, which is a very legitimate aspiration. A living wage means workers will have savings so that when they face unexpected difficulties, they have additional financial resources to solve problems. A second issue is reducing working hours, which has been reflected in the National Assembly’s Resolution since 2019. A third issue is lowering the retirement age for certain groups of workers, especially those working in demanding and hazardous occupations. And another major issue is public holidays.”
Expanding Trade Union membership
The draft document for the 14th Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union for the 2026–2031 term set a target of expanding increasing union membership by at least 4 million members. To achieve this challenging target, the Trade Union has identified two breakthrough spearheads. The first is conquering the digital space. As workers increasingly use the internet to seek information and express their thoughts and concerns, the Trade Union must establish its presence online to support, guide, and protect workers from misinformation.
The second spearhead is promoting productivity to improve welfare. The Trade Union is aiming encourage workers to study and master technology in order to become “digital workers.” To this end, the organization plans to help workers improve their qualifications, secure long-term employment, and adapt to technological changes. Emulation movements will be elevated, linking “skilled labor” with “high productivity” and “good income.”
The new mindset of the Trade Union in the 2026–2031 term aims to build a modern organization with greater adaptive capacity to serve the workers, a Trade Union that maintains its socio-political role under the leadership of the Party while remaining dynamic in the market economy, that cares for workers’ lives and helps them improve their capabilities, that protects their rights and interests and inspires creativity, dedication, and responsibility in national development.
