Vietnam General Confederation of Labor explains the proposal to have 2 more days off on National Day

Simple but very humane wish

At the press conference to inform about the results of the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, reporters from press agencies asked questions related to the proposal to add 2 days off on National Day; minimum wage and living wage; issues of combating exhaustion, health care and prevention of diseases related to mental health...

Answering about the proposal to add 2 days off on National Day, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu said that compared to the general level of countries in the region, the number of holidays in Vietnam is still not as high as the average. This shows that there is still room to increase the number of holidays.

Increasing holidays is associated with the goal of reducing stress, preventing exhaustion and creating conditions to promote tourism and service development.

We see that increasing holidays will not affect businesses. It will have an effect in creating opportunities to reproduce labor for workers, thereby they work with high productivity and good quality" - Mr. Hieu emphasized.

In addition, increasing holidays also creates conditions for workers to take care of their families.

From an economic perspective, this is also a solution to stimulate consumer demand, especially in the fields of services and tourism.

Mr. Hieu emphasized that the proposal to increase days off stems from the reality of trade union activities. After listening to the opinions of union members and workers, the trade union found that workers have a very simple but very humane wish - to take their children to school on the opening day.

Strongly promote the care of mental health

Regarding the issue of combating exhaustion, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu said that this is an issue that many countries around the world are particularly concerned about.

The situation of workers having to work in prolonged stressful conditions, long working hours, little opportunity to rest, recover health or work in harsh weather conditions, affected by technology, electromagnetic fields and many other factors is significantly affecting workers' health.

He said that this content has been concerned by international organizations and many countries, regulated in policies related to labor. Therefore, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor hopes that in the process of amending the Labor Code as well as the Law on Occupational Safety and Health in the coming time, it will be studied to concretize regulations related to preventing and combating the state of exhaustion of workers.

We also hope that besides taking care of the physical health of workers, it is necessary to strongly promote the care of mental health," Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu emphasized.

Citing the reality mentioned by many delegates at the Congress, he said that there is currently a situation where workers suffer from depression, prolonged insomnia, anxiety or have a psychology of procrastination and hesitation when going to work.

These factors have a great impact on labor productivity. Therefore, appropriate policies are needed to improve mental health, help workers have better working conditions, and contribute to improving labor productivity.

Regarding the minimum wage issue, Mr. Hieu said that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor is currently in the stage of preparing contents to organize a seminar after the Vietnam Trade Union Congress, based on the survey results report that has just been conducted.

The proposal to adjust the minimum wage needs to be considered comprehensively and carefully, based on a full assessment of the socio-economic development situation as well as the health of the business community in the context of the world geopolitical situation continuing to have many complex developments.

From there, we will have appropriate proposals on the minimum wage level to contribute to building harmonious, stable, progressive labor relations, in accordance with the responsibility of the representative organization, protecting the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of workers" - Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu said.

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