Decree No. 43/2013/ND-CP dated May 10, 2013 of the Government on the implementation of the Article 10 of the Law on Trade Union

THE GOVERNMENT

Decree No. 43/2013/ND-CP of May 10, 2013, detailing Article 10 of the Trade Union Law on trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 20, 2012 Trade Union Law;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs,

After reaching agreement with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the Government promulgates the Decree detailing Article 10 of the Trade Union Law on trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides the rights and responsibilities of trade unions to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Trade unions of all levels within the system of trade unions prescribed in Article 7 of the Trade Union Law.

2. Civil servants, public employees, workers and laborers (below collectively referred to as employees).

3. Employing units and agencies and organizations involved in the performance of trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees.

Article 3. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to guide and counsel employees on their rights and obligations when concluding and performing labor or working contracts with employers

Grassroots trade unions at employing units have the rights and responsibilities to guide and counsel employees on:

1. The forms, principles, types and contents of contracts, parties’ rights and obligations to provide information, probation period, internship period and related matters when concluding a labor or working contract;

2. Obligations to perform jobs under contracts, the order, procedures and rights and obligations of parties when transferring employees to other jobs, cases of suspension of labor or working contracts and re-recruitment of employees after such suspension;

3. The order and procedures for, and regimes and policies for employees upon, revision or termination of labor or working contracts.

Article 4. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent employees’ collectives in negotiating and signing, and supervising the implementation of collective labor agreements

1. Grassroots trade unions at enterprises, agencies or organizations with employees working under labor contracts have the following rights and responsibilities:

a/ To collect information, proposals and recommendations on the legitimate interests of employees; to request employing units to conduct collective negotiation at their enterprises, agencies or organizations;

b/ To represent employees’ collectives in negotiating and signing the collective labor agreement; and revising, or extending the term of the collective labor agreement in accordance with the labor law;

c/ To disseminate the collective labor agreement among employees; to supervise the implementation of the collective labor agreement at enterprises, agencies or organizations; to request employing units to properly implement the collective labor agreement; to request the settlement of collective labor disputes when employing units fail to fully implement or breach the collective labor agreement as prescribed by the labor law.

2. Sectoral trade unions shall exercise the rights and perform the responsibilities of grassroots trade unions specified in Clause 1 of this Article to represent employees’ collectives in negotiating and signing, and supervising the implementation of, collective labor agreements of their sectors.

Article 5. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to join employing units in elaborating, and supervising the implementation, of wage scales and tables, labor norms, regulations on wage payment and bonus, and internal working regulations

Grassroots trade unions at employing units have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To collect and summarize opinions of employees, to give employers written opinions on the elaboration, issuance and revision of wage scales and tables, labor norms, regulations on wage payment and bonus, and internal working regulations in accordance with the labor law.

2. To supervise the implementation of wage scales and tables, labor norms, regulations on wage payment and bonus, and internal working regulations; to propose employers to revise wage scales and tables, labor norms, regulations on wage payment and bonus, and internal working regulations.

Article 6. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to hold dialogues with employing units for settlement of matters related to the benefits and obligations of employees

Grassroots trade unions at employing units have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To collect information, proposals and recommendations related to the legitimate interests of employees; to request employers to hold dialogues at workplaces in accordance with the labor law.

2. To hold regular or irregular dialogues with employers; to coordinate with employers in organizing conferences of employees or cadres and civil servants in accordance with law;

3. To supervise the implementation of resolutions of conferences of employees or cadres and civil servants, agreements reached through dialogues at workplaces and the regulation on grassroots democracy in accordance with law.

Article 7. Trade unions’ right and responsibility to organize legal counseling for employees

Trade unions at all levels have the right and responsibility to organize counseling for employees on the laws on labor, civil servants and public employees, social insurance, health insurance and trade unions and other laws related to the rights and legitimate interests of employees through activities of trade unions at all levels.

Article 8. Trade unions’ right and responsibility to join competent agencies, organizations and persons in settling labor disputes

1. Grassroots trade unions may request in writing competent agencies, organizations or persons to settle labor disputes according to the order and procedures prescribed by law.

2. Grassroots trade unions have the following responsibilities:

a/ To guide and assist employees in settling individual labor disputes when so requested by employees; to represent employees in the settlement of individual labor disputes when so authorized by employees;

b/ To attend meetings to settle individual labor disputes held by labor conciliators upon request.

3. Higher-level trade unions have the following responsibilities:

a/ To join competent agencies, organizations or persons in settling collective labor disputes in accordance with the labor law;

b/ To support grassroots trade unions in exercising their rights and performing their responsibilities specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 9. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to propose competent organizations and state agencies to consider and settle infringements upon the rights and legitimate interests of employees’ collectives or individual employees

1. Grassroots trade unions at enterprises, agencies or organizations with employees working under contracts have the following rights and responsibilities:

a/ To propose competent state agencies and higher-level trade unions to consider and settle infringements upon the rights and legitimate interests of employees’ collectives or individual employees;

b/ To negotiate with employing units for settlement when the rights and legitimate interests of labor collectives are infringed upon at the request of competent state agencies and immediate higher-level trade unions; to settle collective labor disputes in accordance with the labor law.

2. Grassroots trade unions at administrative and non-business agencies and units have the following rights and responsibilities:

a/ To propose heads of agencies or units to consider and settle infringements upon the rights and legitimate interests of employees’ collectives or individual employees;

b/ To propose competent state agencies and higher-level trade unions to consider and settle, when disagreeing with the decisions of heads of agencies or units or past the prescribed time limit, heads of agencies or units fail to settle requests on, the rights and legitimate interests of labor collectives.

Article 10. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent labor collectives in initiating lawsuits at courts against infringements upon the rights and legitimate interests of employees’ collectives; and represent employees in initiating lawsuits at courts against infringements of the rights and legitimate interests of individual employees under their authorization

Grassroots trade unions at employing units have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To represent labor collectives in initiating lawsuits at courts against infringements upon the rights and legitimate interests of employees’ collectives in accordance with law.

2. To represent employees in initiating lawsuits at courts when authorized by employees to settle individual labor disputes in accordance with law.

Article 11. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent labor collectives and employees in participating in legal proceedings in labor, administrative and corporate bankruptcy cases

Grassroots trade unions at employing units have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To represent labor collectives in participating in legal proceedings in labor, administrative and bankruptcy cases in accordance with law to protect their rights and legitimate interests.

2. To represent employees in participating in judicial proceedings if so authorized by employees to protect their rights and legitimate interests in labor, administrative and bankruptcy cases in accordance with law.

Article 12. Trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to organize and lead strikes

Grassroots trade unions at enterprises, agencies and organizations with employees working under labor contracts have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To consult labor collectives before calling strikes in accordance with the labor law;

2. To issue decisions on strikes and notify the time to start strikes;

3. To withdraw decisions on strikes when strikes have not yet started;

4. To organize strikes in accordance with the labor law;

5. To comply with the labor law on strike prohibition and strike suspension and termination;

6. To request courts to declare strikes lawful in accordance with law.

Article 13. Immediate higher-level trade unions’ rights and responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees

Immediate higher-level trade unions have the following rights and responsibilities:

1. To exercise the rights and perform the responsibilities of grassroots trade unions specified in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of this Decree at establishments where grassroots trade unions have not been established, when so requested by employees of those establishments;

2. To support grassroots trade unions in exercising their rights and performing their responsibilities as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 14. Higher-level trade unions’ rights and responsibilities

1. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shall, based on the functions, tasks and organizational structure of trade unions provided in the Charter of Vietnam Trade Unions, guide trade unions at all levels in exercising their rights and performing their responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees in accordance with this Decree.

2. Provincial-level trade unions and central trade unions of sectors shall guide and assist immediate higher-level trade unions and grassroots trade unions in exercising their rights and performing their responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees in accordance with this Decree.

Article 15. Responsibilities of employing units and involved agencies, organizations and persons

Employing units, organizations representing employing units and involved agencies, organizations and persons shall provide information and coordinate with and create favorable conditions for trade unions at all levels to exercise their rights and perform their responsibilities to represent and protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees in accordance with this Decree.

Article 16. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on July 1, 2013.

2. The Ministers Council’s Decree No. 133/HDBT of April 20, 1991, guiding the Trade Union Law, and Decree No. 302/HDBT of August 19, 1992, on the rights and responsibilities of grassroots trade unions at enterprises and agencies cease to be effective on the effective date of this Decree.

Article 17. Implementation responsibilities

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG