Speech by Comrade Le Kha Phieu - General Secretary of the Party Central Committee at the VIII Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union

Dear Presidium of the Congress,

Dear delegates,

Dear distinguished guests,

Today, I am very excited to attend the 8th Congress of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. On behalf of the Party Central Committee, I warmly welcome the outstanding delegates, representing the will, aspirations, and intelligence of the working class and the Trade Union organization of the whole country to attend the Congress. Through the delegates, I would like to send to all workers, civil servants and laborers nationwide the warm regards of the Party Central Committee.

I warmly welcome and greet international guests, ambassadors representing international organizations, trade union organizations of brotherly countries to attend the Congress, bringing to the working class and people of Vietnam friendship and noble solidarity.

I also hope that trade unions in the world will strengthen cooperation, help share experiences with the Vietnam Trade Union and believe that the International Trade Union movement will play an extremely important role in the struggle to build a sustainable peace, for equality between nations, for the benefit of workers and social progress.

Dear comrades and friends,

The 8th Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union takes place in the context of our country undergoing profound changes. Looking back at the journey of more than 10 years of renovation, we are excited and proud of it, and our country's strength has increased significantly. Overcoming challenges and accumulated difficulties, our country's economy continues to develop and has a relatively good growth rate. We have established an agriculture that ensures the basic needs of people's lives and has surplus for export. The capacity of industry and service sectors meets most of the demand for consumption and an important part of the demand for domestic production materials, many items have surpassed the world market. A market mechanism managed by the State with a socialist orientation is being formed, which has the effect of promoting dynamism and positivity in society. People's lives are improving. The political situation is stable, social order and security are maintained. Cultural and social activities are maintained, with new developments and progress. International cooperation relations are expanded, and our country's position and prestige in the world are enhanced.

That victory affirmed that the guidelines and policies of the VIII Congress and the Resolutions of the Central Committee were correct; affirmed the spirit of striving and effort of the entire people and army, of all levels and sectors; the steadfast, proactive and creative direction and administration of the Central Party Committee and the Government; the efforts of localities throughout the country. That victory has the worthy contribution of the Vietnamese working class and the Vietnam Trade Union.

The rich and active activities of the workers' movement and Trade Unions at all levels have practically contributed to promoting production development, perfecting management mechanisms, caring for spiritual and material life and protecting legitimate interests for workers. The Trade Union organization is increasingly expanding in economic sectors and constantly growing stronger.

On behalf of the Party Central Committee, I warmly welcome and commend the achievements that the working class and Trade Unions of our country have achieved in the past time.

Dear comrades and friends,

The 8th Congress of the Vietnam Trade Union is of great significance, the Congress motivates and organizes the Vietnamese working class to promote revolutionary traditions, unleash all creative potential, take the lead in the cause of promoting industrialization and modernization of the country, and together with the entire people and army strive to successfully implement the goal set by the 8th Party Congress, which is to basically turn our country into an industrialized country by 2020. That is the glorious mission of the Vietnamese working class, a heavy responsibility, and also an opportunity for the Trade Union organization and each person to contribute and grow.

The Vietnam Trade Union Congress takes place in a special historical moment. Only 2 years left until the end of the 20th century. On the threshold of the 21st century, our country is facing new opportunities and challenges. We cannot be subjective and complacent, but must see the weaknesses, along with unfavorable developments that are hindering our socio-economic development. These are slowing down the growth rate of the economy; development investment and production and business have been narrowed in some fields; economic efficiency and competitiveness of goods are low; socio-culture still has many shortcomings and concerns; the issue of job creation for workers is becoming increasingly serious, especially in enterprises that are shrinking production, rearranging and agricultural labor; bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, smuggling, and trade fraud are still common. The weaknesses from within the economy have not been immediately overcome, and are further affected by the negative impacts of the financial and monetary crisis in the region that may spread to some countries; the complex developments of natural disasters; and other volatile factors in the world that cannot be fully foreseen. These are obstacles that all levels and sectors need to see clearly and seriously, to proactively find solutions to overcome them. We believe in our own strength to overcome them, because we have very basic advantages. That is political and social stability; economic development achievements, people's lives are guaranteed; the mechanisms and policies that the Party Central Committee and the Government have just issued; the experience in state management and administration; the potential and comparative advantages of the country; the role and prestige of our country in the international arena. Synthesizing these factors will create a new driving force for the development of our country.

The report of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, term VII, submitted to this Congress, deeply summarized the worker movement and trade union activities of our country in the renovation years, clarifying the role of the working class - the leadership class, representing the rights of workers, laborers and national interests. The report set out general tasks as well as specific tasks for each field of operation and work of the Vietnam Trade Union organization from 1998 to 2003. The report is a product of the process of promoting democracy from the grassroots level, showing the sense of mastery of the working class, clearly showing the consensus of a large number of workers, civil servants, and laborers towards the Vietnam Trade Union organization. I agree with the general objective of the Congress: "For the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country; for jobs, life, democracy and social justice; building a strong working class and trade union organization".

Here are some issues I would like to add:

First of all, it is necessary to emphasize that the Vietnamese working class has a historical mission to lead the Vietnamese revolution through its pioneering team, the Communist Party of Vietnam. In the long and arduous struggle for national independence, national reunification and in the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland today, in any revolutionary period, the Vietnamese working class with its pioneering team always maintains the leadership flag, always standing at the forefront in all movements. The contribution of the working class is extremely great in the revolutionary process of our nation. Our Party highly appreciates and is proud of the revolutionary tradition of the Vietnamese working class.

The Communist Party of Vietnam is loyal and steadfast in its Marxism-Leninist stance, Ho Chi Minh's ideology, affirming the historical mission of the Vietnamese working class in the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland. This must be reaffirmed because currently, in the face of temporary difficulties of socialism and the world revolutionary movement, many people for various reasons have wavered, been skeptical, and even want to deny the historical mission of the working class and the leadership role of the Communist Party.

In the new era of our country's revolution - the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization with the development of industry, the scientific and technological revolution, the working class is increasingly developing both in quantity and quality, representing the most advanced production force in society. The working class is present in industry, agriculture, forestry, fishery, transportation... in factories and factories; the team of engineers, senior technicians, technical staff, direct labor managers in the industrial production process are playing a leading role in modern economic and technical sectors, in economic sectors in all fields and localities of the country.

Our Party, in many documents, has emphasized that it is necessary to take care of building a working class that is constantly growing stronger in quantity and quality, diverse in industries, adapting to the market mechanism, approaching and mastering modern technology. However, in the initial transition to a market economy, the inherent weaknesses in workers are also clearly revealed: The majority have not been trained in vocational skills, class enlightenment is still limited, there are still negative phenomena, laziness in labor; the spirit of responsibility, collective awareness is not high, organizational and disciplinary nature are still poor, working style is still not urgent and accurate, those weaknesses and shortcomings are not suitable and cause obstacles to new requirements. Industrialization and modernization is a fundamental and comprehensive transformation of socio-economic activities from using manual labor as the main source to using labor in a widespread way along with technology and means as advanced and modern management methods to create high labor productivity. This requires the worker team to have outstanding maturity, extraordinary striving, and quickly overcome weaknesses to meet the objective requirements of the industrialization and modernization process and be on par with their historical mission in the current revolutionary period.

The Vietnamese working class has a close, flesh-and-blood relationship with the peasant class; the alliance between the working class and the peasant class and the intellectual class is the foundation of national unity, a strategic issue, a vital principle of the Party, and one of the decisive factors to ensure that the historical mission of the Vietnamese working class is consolidated, maintained and strengthened. This is an experience and a basic, precious tradition of the Communist Party of Vietnam; a source of endless strength to ensure the victory of our country's revolution.

In the national democratic revolution, this relationship was very good; today, in the process of industrialization and modernization, this relationship needs to be further consolidated and strengthened with richer and more comprehensive content.

The alliance between workers and farmers and intellectuals is not only based on political unity but also on economic unity. The correct economic renovation policies of the Party and State show the stance and viewpoints of the working class, harmoniously combining the interests of the farmer class, the intellectual class and the entire nation. And in fact, many economic issues and benefits have been resolved. Currently, the working class and scientists in our country are focusing their thinking on agricultural and rural industrialization; and in fact, they have made many significant contributions to agriculture such as: Transportation, irrigation, mechanics, electricity, seedlings, breeds, fertilizers... , making an important contribution to promoting commodity agricultural production, building new rural areas and improving farmers' lives. It can be affirmed that each agricultural product produced is imbued with the sweat and effort of the entire civil class, the working class and the intellectual team, and at the same time, each labor result of workers, intellectuals, and scientists directly affects the daily lives of the whole society, including farmers. The link between the State economy and the farming household economy, the cooperative economy in agriculture in rural areas in the process of industrialization and modernization along the socialist path is a vivid and prominent image of that alliance.

Comrades,

With the position of a large socio-political organization of the Vietnamese working class, in all stages of the revolution, the Vietnam Trade Union has the task of building its organization to be strong in all aspects, thereby mobilizing, gathering, and uniting forces to become the core force, successfully implementing the Party's guidelines. To perform its tasks in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization. Trade unions must innovate in content, form and methods of operation, innovate in organization and personnel. In a multi-sectoral economy, operating according to market mechanisms and international integration, working conditions, living conditions and needs, aspirations, and interests of workers and laborers are different from before, and the working conditions of workers and laborers in different economic sectors are also not the same, if the organization and activities of trade unions are not suitable for each type of organization and specific circumstances, the effectiveness will be very limited.

It is necessary to pay attention to building strong grassroots trade unions because it is the foundation of the organization, the place to gather and unite union members, the place to implement all policies of the trade union organization. It is necessary to develop union members, build trade unions in enterprises belonging to economic sectors, not to let any establishment be without a trade union organization. The contingent of trade union officials must be trained and fostered in knowledge of politics, culture, economy, technology, law, working methods... understanding issues of production and business. Trade union officials must be both political workers and social activists, and have the ability to propagate and mobilize organizations in production and business, and have the bravery to participate and fight to protect the legitimate and legal interests of workers. People who have grown up from the workers' movement and trade union activities will be an important source to supplement officials for the Party and the State.

Promoting democracy, promoting patriotic emulation movements, in order to best exploit internal resources and improve the effectiveness of international cooperation, is not only the responsibility and obligation of businesses and state agencies but also the responsibility and obligation of all economic sectors. Wherever they do well, have achievements in contributing to the country and care for and ensure the lives of workers, they are welcomed and rewarded by the Party and the State. Conversely, places that violate democratic rights and legitimate and legal rights of workers are criticized and handled according to the law.

Here, I want to clarify that in the context of developing a multi-sectoral economy, ownership and labor relations in each region are different, but are all placed under the unified management of the State, all develop in a socialist direction. In that economy, all sectors are equal before the law, all are facilitated to develop, but the state economic sector must play a leading role and together with the cooperative economic sector gradually become the foundation of the national economy. Therefore, workers in these economic sectors must clearly see their important position in the entire working class. The equitization of a part of state-owned enterprises is a major policy of the Party and the State, aimed at expanding the capital of enterprises, exploiting potential capital in workers and labor for development investment, and thus both to strengthen the state's economic strength (not to weaken it), and to create more conditions for workers to exercise the right to mastery, through their own ownership in the form of shares. Therefore, the Trade Union must actively propagate and mobilize workers and laborers to enthusiastically participate in equitization for the benefit of the country and the home. It is necessary to actively participate in all tasks in the enterprise equitization process. The organization and operation of grassroots trade unions must be suitable for each type of enterprise. In different economic sectors, they cannot be uniform.

It is also necessary to emphasize that building a strong working class and trade union organization is the responsibility of the Party, the State and the entire political system. As Uncle Ho taught: A working class without a pioneering team led by the Communist Party is no different from a ship without a driver, easily lost direction and unable to fulfill its historical mission. Conversely, if the Party is not closely associated with the working class, does not maintain the nature of the working class, it is no longer a revolutionary pioneering party. Therefore, the working class must be loyal to the goals and ideals of the Party, participate in Party building, protecting the Party and supplementing outstanding members to the Party. Party committees at all levels must take care of building a strong working class and Trade Union organization in terms of politics, ideology, organization and methods of operation, must innovate leadership methods, create a democratic and reliable atmosphere for workers, civil servants and laborers with the Party; overcome the situation of blank blanks, letting go or justifying, losing the initiative and creativity of the Trade Union organization.

Our State is a State of the people, by the people, for the people, is a tool for managing the country, exercising the right to mastery of the working class and the working people. All guidelines and policies of the State must reflect the will and aspirations of the people, must respect and fully promote the people's right to mastery through their representative organizations; must ensure that all power belongs to the people as Uncle Ho taught.

According to the Constitution and laws, in addition to the function of protecting the legitimate and legal interests of workers and laborers and the educational function, the Trade Union also has the function of participating in state management and economic management. Therefore, all levels of government and management agencies must proactively coordinate and create all conditions for the Trade Union to operate effectively. Recently, the Government and the General Confederation of Labor have had regulations on coordination activities; many industry, local and grassroots trade unions have developed regulations on coordination with the same-level government that have had good effects. However, some places have not done well, are still formalistic, the implementation of the Trade Union Law and the Labor Law is not strict, even some businesses have not created conditions for the Trade Union to operate, and still hinder the establishment of Trade Unions and the development of union members, these are incorrect actions that need to be quickly overcome.

Dear comrades and friends,

From this solemn Congress, on behalf of the Party Central Committee, I express my deep belief that the working class of our country will continue to promote the glorious revolutionary tradition, uphold the spirit of self-reliance and self-strengthening, diligent and creative labor, overcome difficulties and challenges, take the lead in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country, and together with the entire people successfully complete the cause of renovation for the goal: People are rich, the country is strong, society is fair and civilized, making practical contributions to the world trade union movement. I also believe that the Trade Union organization of our country will continue to innovate and constantly grow stronger, truly being a large organization of the working class, representing the strength, talent, intelligence and interests of millions of workers and laborers. Let's stir up a revolutionary action movement, a strong patriotic emulation movement, bringing practical efficiency, making worthy contributions to the cause of building and protecting our socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

With that belief, I wish the Congress success.

Wishing the delegates and international friends good health and happiness!

Thank you!

Excerpt from the book "Vietnamese Trade Union from the 1st to the 10th Congress" by Lao Dong Publishing House.