Hanoi (VNA) – On behalf of the Vietnamese Government, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung delivered a speech at the 109th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC-109) on June 11.
The conference, held virtually from May 20 to June 19, was attended by more than 4,000 delegates who represented Government agencies, employees, and employers from 187 member countries and territories of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Led by Minister Dung, the Vietnamese delegation included representatives of Vietnam’s permanent mission in Geneva and three organisations representing employees and employers, namely the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.
The ILC-109 consisted of plenary sessions and meetings of ILO committees. At the high-level plenary sittings from June 7 to 17, heads of states, ministers, and heads of delegations delivered speeches about employment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his remarks, Minister Dung applauded and voiced support for the theme of the ILC-109, the ILO initiative on a global response for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the use of the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work as an implementation roadmap.
This initiative makes an important contribution to the world’s efforts towards realising the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and to the pursuit of the ILO mission of promoting social justice and decent and sustainable jobs for all people, which are also among the priorities the Vietnamese Government has been advancing, he said.
The official noted that since the pandemic broke out in the world and spread to Vietnam in early 2020, with the consensus and support from labourers, the business community, and the entire society, the country has been taking drastic measures to prevent and control COVID-19 in the spirit of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting an enemy”.
The Government has worked out various solutions and policies to assist enterprises to surmount difficulties, stabilise production and business activities, and maintain jobs for their employees. Besides, a social security package has been issued to support the people, especially vulnerable groups, hit hard by the pandemic, according to Dung.
The Vietnamese delegation at the ILC-109 (Photo: VietnamPlus) Thanks to strong actions by the Government and efforts by the business community and their employees, Vietnam managed to record an economic growth rate of 2.91 percent in 2020 despite numerous difficulties.
Its Government is persistently pursuing the twin targets of effectively fighting against the pandemic and striving for socio-economic recovery and development that centres on the people, the minister went on.
He said in 2019 and 2020, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted the revised Labour Code that perfected the legal framework on the employment relationship, working conditions, and social security that matches the country’s reality and development. It also ratified two more fundamental ILO conventions, namely Convention No 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining and Convention No 105 on the abolition of forced labour.
Meanwhile, the Government issued a new plan on building and promoting harmonious, stable, and progressive labour relations in enterprises.
On May 27 this year, the Prime Minister issued a programme on preventing and minimising child labour for 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, which is part of the Government’s efforts to realise the commitments by Vietnam as one of the first countries to take part in Alliance 8.7 - the global partnership to end forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour.
The Vietnamese partners are working with the ILO to build a decent work country programme for the 2022 - 2026 period and ensure that the targets about decent work will be integrated into the country’s socio-economic development strategies and plans, Minister Dung remarked, noting that Vietnam wishes to continue receiving the ILO’s technical assistance in labour - employment reforms and social security./.
