Chương XIII Bộ luật Lao động 2019: Tổ chức đại diện người lao động tại cơ sở

Chapter XIII

REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS OF EMPLOYEES

Article 170. The right to establish, join and participate in representative organizations of employees

1. Every employee has the right to establish, join and participate in activities of trade union in accordance with the Trade Union Law.

2. Employees of enterprises are entitled to establish, join and participate in activities of internal employee organizations in accordance with Articles 172, 173 and 174 of this Labor Code.

3. The representative organizations of employees mentioned in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall have equal rights and obligations in protection of the legitimate rights and interests of employees in labor relations.

Article 171. Internal trade unions in Vietnam’s trade union system

1. Internal trade unions in Vietnam’s trade union system shall be established in organizations, units and enterprises.

2. The establishment, dissolution, organization and operation of internal trade unions shall comply with the Trade Union Law.

Article 172. Establishment, participation and operation of internal employee organizations

1. The internal employee organization in an enterprise shall be established after registration is granted by a competent authority. The organizational structure and operation of internal employee organizations shall comply with the Constitution, law and internal regulations, adhere to the principles of autonomy, democracy and transparency.

2. Registration of an internal employee organization shall be cancelled if it acts against its objectives and principles as prescribed in Point b Clause 1 Article 174 of this Labor Code, or the organization is undergoing division, amalgamation, merger, or the enterprise is undergoing dissolution or bankruptcy.

3. When an internal employee organization wishes to join the trade union, the Trade Union Law shall apply

4. The Government shall provide for documents and procedures for registration; the competence to grant and cancel registration, state management of finance and assets of internal employee organizations; division, amalgamation, merger, dissolution thereof; the right to association of employees in enterprises.

Article 173. Management board and members of internal employee organizations

1. When applying for registration, the number of members the internal employee organization that are employees of the enterprise shall reach the minimum number prescribed by the Government.

2. The management board shall be elected by members of the internal employee organization. Members of the management board shall be Vietnamese employees of the enterprise who are not serving a sentence, do not have an unspent conviction and are not undergoing criminal prosecution for breach of national security, violations against freedom and democracy, infringement of ownership defined in Criminal Code.

Article 174. Charter of internal employee organization

1. The charter of an internal employee organization shall contain:

a) Name, address and logo (if any) of the organization;

b) The objectives of protecting the lawful rights and interests of the members in labor relations in the enterprise; cooperating with the employer in resolving issues relevant to the rights, obligations and interest of the employer and employees; develop progressive, harmonious and stable labor relation;

c) Requirements and procedures for joining and leaving the organization.

The internal employee organization of an enterprise shall not simultaneously have members that are ordinary employees and members that participate in the process of making decisions relevant to working conditions, recruitment, labor discipline, employment contract termination or employee reassignment;

d) Organizational structure, tenure and representative of the organization;

dd) Rules for organization and operation;

e) Methods for ratifying decisions of the organization.

The following issues shall be voted by the members under the majority rule: ratification, revisions of the organization’s charter; election, dismissal of the chief and members of the management board of the organization; division, consolidation, merger, renaming, dissolution, association of the organization; joining the trade union.

g) Membership fees, sources of assets and finance, and the management thereof.

Revenues and expenses of the internal employee organization shall be monitored, archived and made available to its members.

h) Members’ proposals and responses thereto.

2. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Article 175. Prohibited acts by the employer regarding the establishment, operation of and participation in representative organizations of employees

1. Any act of discrimination against employees or members of the management board of the representative organization of employees due to the establishment, operation or participation in the representative organization of employees, including:

a) Requesting a person to participate, not to participate or to leave the representative organization of employees in order to be recruited, have the employment contract signed or renewed;

b) Disciplining or unilaterally terminating an employment contract; refuses to conclude or renew an employment contract; reassigning an employee;

c) Discrimination by salary, working hours, other rights and obligations in the labor relation;

d) Obstructing, disrupting or otherwise impairing the operation of the representative organization of employees.

2. Interfering, influencing the establishment, election, planning and operation of the representative organization of employees, including financial support or other economic measures aimed to neutralize or weaken the functions of the representative organization of employees, or discriminate between the representative organizations of employees.

Article 176. Rights of members of the management board of a representative organization of employees

1. Members of the management board of a representative organization of employees have the rights to:

a) Approach employees at the workplace during the performance of the organization’s duties, provided it does not affect the employer’s normal operation.

b) Approach the employer to perform the duties of the employees’ representative organization;

c) Be fully paid by the employer for performance of the duties of the representative organization of employees during the working time in accordance with Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article;

d) Other guarantees in labor relation and performance of the representative’s duties as prescribed by law.

2. The Government shall specify the minimum period of time the employer has to allow all members of the management board of the representative organization of employees to perform its duties according to the number of its members.

3. The representative organization of employees and the employer may negotiate the extra time and how the management board uses the working time to perform their duties in a practical manner.

Article 177. Obligations of the employer to the internal representative organization of employees

1. Do not obstruct the employees from lawfully establishing, joining and participate in activities of the internal representative organization of employees.

2. Recognize and respect the rights of the lawfully established internal representative organization of employees.

3. Enter into a written agreement with the management board of the internal representative organization of employees when unilaterally terminating the employment contract with, reassigning or dismissing for disciplinary reasons an employee who is a member of the management board. In case such an agreement cannot be reached, both parties shall send a notice to the provincial labor authority. After 30 days from the day on which such a notice is sent to the labor authority in the locality, the employer shall have the right to make the decision. In case of disagreement with the employer’s decision, the employee and management board may request labor dispute settlement in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law.

4. In case the employment contract with an employee that is a member of the management board of the internal employee representative organization expires before the end of his/her term of office, the existing contract shall be extended until the end of the term of office.

5. Other obligations prescribed by law.

Article 178. Rights and obligations of the representative organization of employees in labor relations

1. Enter into collective bargaining with the employer in accordance with this Labor Code.

2. Hold dialogues at work in accordance with this Labor Code.

3. Comment on the establishment; supervise the implementation of the pay scale, payroll, labor rates, regulations on salary payment, rewards, internal labor regulations, and other issue relevant to rights and interests of employees that are members of the organization.

4. Represent the employee during labor dispute settlement when authorized by the employee.

5. Organize and lead strikes in accordance with this Labor Code.

6. Provide technical assistance for legally registered organizations in Vietnam to improve their knowledge about labor laws, procedures for establishment of the representative organization of employees and performance of representative activities in labor relation after registration is granted.

7. Be provided a working location, information and other necessary facilities for operation of the representative organization of employees by the employer.

8. Other rights and obligations prescribed by law.