A mission on tri-lateral labour relations from Singapore has offered to help Vietnam address difficulties in establishing labour unions in foreign-invested enterprises.

The guests expressed interest in the issue at a working session with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL)’s Deputy Executive Chairman in Hanoi on Nov. 5.

Host and guest also discussed the VGCL’s concerns which arose during its involvement in revising the Labour Code.

For his part, Binh emphasised on the VGCL’s major goal to build harmonious and sustainable labour relations.

He said to reach the end, trade unions have taken initiative in meeting and holding negotiations with foreign investors.

The Singaporean delegation shared their experience that labourers made redundant during enterprise restructuring should be provided opportunities for training to improve their skills as a way for them to get new jobs or meet new demands.

The guests recommended Vietnam pay attention to a reconciliation mechanism or the presence of a third party in negotiations in establishing labour relations.

On this occasion, the VGCL presented the insignia “For the Cause of Trade Unions”, the highest honour by the VGCL, to Teo Yock Ngee, General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees.

For years, Teo Yock Ngee has helped the VGCL hold a number of training courses for Vietnamese workers and public employees that dealt with experiences related to female trade members, grassroots trade unions, promoting memberships and business doing for trade unions.

He has also contributed to expanding relations between the VGCL’s union of public employees and counterparts in Asia and the Pacific as well as helped the Union of Public Employees attend several international workshops./.