The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed that all levels study the reduction of working hours of employees in enterprises to less than 48 hours per week, towards 40 hours, equal to the state sector.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor collected eight proposals from workers nationwide and sent them to senior leaders at the 13th General Confederation of Labor Congress on December 3.

The General Confederation of Labor cited the content of Resolution 101 of the National Assembly issued in 2019, "assigning the Government, based on the socio-economic development situation, to study and propose reducing normal working hours for employees to less than 48 hours per week and report to the National Assembly for consideration at an appropriate time".

This organization recommended that the Government assign the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to preside over, and work with ministries and branches to soon study the reduction of working hours of employees, ensuring fairness with the state administrative sector (40 hours). The goal is for workers to rest, regenerate their strength, and take care of their families.

Shift time of workers at a garment company in Ho Chi Minh City, November 2023. Photo: Thanh Tung

Current law stipulates that workers work no more than 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week under normal conditions. Enterprises have the right to set working hours by day or week but must notify workers. The State encourages enterprises to implement a 40-hour work week.

At a group discussion a day ago, Mr. Dang Tuan Vu, Chairman of the Trade Union of Changshin Company, an enterprise employing 37,000 workers, the largest in Dong Nai, said that the roadmap to reduce working hours towards 40 hours per week is the desire of many workers. In 2015, daily wages were gradually adjusted by law to receive monthly wages, and workers expected to reduce working hours so that they could rest on weekends, but so far this has not happened.

"I know this proposal is not new, but I still hope that the authorities at all levels will pay more attention to the health of workers, in addition to increasing the regional minimum wage," he said.

At the National Assembly in late October, delegate Pham Trong Nghia (in charge of the Social Committee) also expressed a similar opinion. He cited the 1947 decree of President Ho Chi Minh stipulating that working hours should not exceed 48 hours per week and overtime should not exceed 100 hours per year.

According to Mr. Nghia, the country has achieved many achievements after more than eight decades, but working hours of private sector workers have not decreased while overtime has tripled. Since 1999, state employees have worked 40 hours per week, while the business sector has kept 48 hours after many amendments to the Labor Code.

Statistics from the Department of Labor Safety in 2019, Vietnam has one of the highest working hours in Southeast Asia, while holidays are among the lowest. Specifically, the average working hours of Vietnamese people in a year are about 2,320 hours, lower than the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and higher than Singapore, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam has 12 starting days of leave, which is in the average group, lower than Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and higher than Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Vietnam's Tet holiday is 11 days, equal to Singapore's but among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

In addition to reducing working hours, the Vietnam Trade Union also proposed that competent authorities consider adding 2 days off for National Day, from September 2 to 5 every year, so that workers have the opportunity to take their children to school on the first day of school.

VnExpress's online survey of more than 7,000 votes showed that 76% of readers agreed to have 2 more days off for National Day, 4% disagreed and 20% said that 2 more days should be added for Tet.

This organization also recommends that when amending the Labor Code in 2019, it should stipulate that each year, employers should set aside at least one day for employees to study politics and law, and encourage units to negotiate for more than one day.

Source: https://vnexpress.net/cong-doan-mong-muon-giam-gio-lam-duoi-48-tieng-moi-tuan-4683870.html