Developing union members at FDI enterprises from companionship and trust

Proactively creating breakthroughs in FDI enterprises

Mr. Thach Van Chung - Member of the Standing Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Chairman of the Bac Ninh Provincial Labor Federation - informed that Bac Ninh is the first locality to proactively propose and pilot the admission of trade union members who are foreign workers after the Trade Union Law (amended) takes effect from July 1, 2025.

The Trade Union Law has expanded the subjects of joining the Vietnam Trade Union for workers who are foreign citizens working legally in Vietnam under labor contracts for 12 months or more. This is considered an important innovation step, in line with the process of international integration and the rapid development of the FDI enterprise sector.

Right from May 2025, based on the provisions of the Trade Union Law and the Charter of the Vietnam Trade Union, the Bac Ninh Provincial Labor Federation reported to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor to request a pilot policy. By July 2026, the whole province had admitted about 1,200 union members who are foreign workers.

According to Mr. Chung, developing union members who are foreigners is a practical requirement when FDI enterprises and international workers in Bac Ninh are increasing. Trade unions need to proactively approach, grasp the thoughts, and accompany workers regardless of nationality.

To implement effectively, the Bac Ninh Provincial Labor Federation coordinates with functional agencies to review legal and security factors, and at the same time build a database and classify businesses with foreign workers to have appropriate mobilization methods.

To develop union members who are foreigners, it is necessary to have a very firm grasp of data, know where they work, what nationality they have, what subjects they belong to and what labor relations they have" - Mr. Chung shared.

Accordingly, the work of developing foreign union members needs coordination between the Trade Union and functional agencies, thereby building operating methods suitable for multinational and multicultural workforces.

From practice, Bac Ninh identified difficulties including: foreign workers not clearly understanding the role of the Trade Union, labor fluctuations, language and cultural barriers, along with obstacles in care, settlement and payment of trade union fees.
To remove obstacles, grassroots trade unions build multilingual propaganda materials, assign officials with foreign language proficiency to participate in activities; take advantage of digital platforms such as Zalo, WeChat to connect and propagate.

When faith becomes a bridge

At Fukang Technology Co., Ltd., the story of developing foreign union members shows that when businesses and trade unions accompany each other, barriers related to language, culture or nationality differences can be gradually removed.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Luy - Chairwoman of the Trade Union of Fukang Technology Co., Ltd. - said that so far all 710 qualified foreign workers working at the company have voluntarily joined the Vietnam Trade Union.

Sharing experiences from the grassroots level, Ms. Nguyen Thi Luy shared that the company's Trade Union always coordinates with businesses to take care of union members' lives, organize cultural and sports activities, and launch a movement for good and creative labor, contributing to improving production efficiency.

To help foreign workers understand and participate in trade unions, first of all, businesses must accompany the organization. Therefore, the Trade Union Executive Committee proactively exchanges with the company's leadership, especially the foreign management team, helping businesses understand the role of trade unions in caring for workers' lives and building harmonious and stable labor relations.

Through meetings, dialogues and practical activities, the gap between foreign workers and trade union organizations is gradually narrowing. Workers not only know about trade unions through regulations but also directly feel the care, support and protection of their rights.

The fact that 100% of qualified foreign workers at Fukang Technology Co., Ltd. became union members is not only a milestone in the union member development work of the Bac Ninh Trade Union, but also shows the spread of the Trade Union organization in an increasingly diverse working environment.

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