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HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese enterprises need more opportunities to get technology transfers from foreign investment activities and join ventures with foreign partners for sustainable development of the domestic industry.
Technology is important in improving global competitiveness for local manufacturers in Việt Nam, said BT Tee, general director of Informa Market Việt Nam.
The domestic industrial sector, which contributes 50 per cent of national GDP, has a strategic position in the sustainable development of the domestic economy and attraction of foreign investment.
Local enterprises must actively improve production scale and technology and connect with professional partners to develop the industry and participate in the global supply chain, said BT Tee.
To do this, some experts said local enterprises must overcome challenges in using data management systems. Việt Nam’s industrial sector and domestic enterprises face many difficulties in digitising and connecting data of enterprises as well as applying technology and smart machines in production lines.
With the development of Industry 4.0 and globalisation, local businesses need to actively take advantage of opportunities to increase competitiveness, according to the experts.
The global free trade market requires domestic enterprises to invest in research and production of smart machines that are capable of competing in many markets but not just meeting demand in the domestic market.
According to the Japan Trade Promotion Organisation (JETRO)’s branch in HCM City, foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan to Việt Nam has increased significantly year by year, showing that the Japanese business community have always appreciated the Việt Nam market and strived to seek opportunities for cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
For the industrial sector, Japanese enterprises have advantages in equipment and machinery with modern production technology to increase productivity and reduce costs.
With entry into free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) or the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Việt Nam is a potential market for foreign businesses in almost all fields.
According to Marko Walde, Chief Representative of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (AHK) in Việt Nam, the association wishes to connect businesses of the two countries, helping Vietnamese enterprises approach to new technologies and solutions in the manufacturing industry.
It will also help Việt Nam improve its competitiveness and sustainable development as well as support businesses in meeting the regulations of Việt Nam’s Government and the needs of modernising machinery and production lines for development of the domestic support industry.
Walde said for the manufacturing industry, effective exploitation of investment promotion channels and attraction of foreign capital is a challenge for both management agencies, as well as the business community.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the important issue for the domestic industry sector at present is to improve the low technical and technological level of enterprises. Statistics show that 59.6 per cent of local enterprises use outdated technology and only 2 per cent use high technology for production.
According to Việt Nam’s industrial development strategy up to 2025, Việt Nam’s industry will be more competitive and use modern technology, participate in global value chains in a number of specialties and fields as well as meet the basic requirements of the economy and export activities.
In addition, the Vietnamese mechanical industry is also oriented to develop with advanced technology, international quality products and deeper participation in the global value chain.
VNS
With the EU – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) signed late last month, Việt Nam will have the opportunity to gain further access to the market of 28 European Union member countries as well as global markets.
As one of the ‘new generation’ bilateral agreements, the EVFTA trade deal includes commitments to implement International Labour Organisation core standards.
The Vietnamese Government is now revising the Labour Code, which, if adopted, will represent major progress towards alignment with the International Labor Organisation (ILO) 1988 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
In parallel, the Government has ratified one of the three remaining ILO core conventions – Convention 98 on collective bargaining – earlier this year. It is working towards the ratification of Convention 105 on forced labour in 2020, and Convention 87 on freedom of association by 2023.
In the revised Labour Code that has been put up for public review, the drafters have added three provisions on the establishment of workers’ associations. In particular, workers have the right to join or form a representative organisation of their choosing, and the law also introduces clearer processes and encouragement for collective bargaining.
Looking back more than 10 years ago, when the terms ‘freedom of association’ and ‘collective bargaining’ were still taboo, it’s clear the country has come a long way.
But of course the future is always unpredictable, and the real implementation of such commitments will prove the goodwill of the Government.
It might be a long road, given the current situation.
Hard life and weak protection
According to a recently-published Oxfam study on Vietnamese garment workers’ wages and living conditions, 99 per cent of Vietnamese garment workers surveyed earn below Asia’s living wage proposed by the Asian Floor Wage and 74 per cent of them earn below the global living wage proposed by the Global Living Wage Coalition.
A living wage, according to Oxfam, is the minimum wage paid to a full-time worker that can cover basic needs of food, housing, healthcare, clothing, transportation, utilities, childcare, education, future savings and savings for future and unexpected events.
According to the study, Việt Nam’s statutory minimum wage is far below what a person needs to cover the essentials. Even the wages most garment workers earn on top of the minimum wage fall short of what is considered a living wage. The national average minimum wage in Việt Nam is VNĐ3.34 million, which is around 37 per cent of the Asia Floor Wage and 64 per cent of the Global Living Wage Coalition benchmark.
Competitiveness is among factors blamed for this distressing situation.
Workers’ wages are being kept low, so manufacturers can reduce prices for international buyers, who always seek the cheapest option.
The priority of profit over workers’ livelihoods causes many factories to cut costs by not conducting enough health checks and reducing the cost of their employees’ meals, the report said.
At a meeting last week held by the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour, Vũ Quang Thọ, former head of the Union Institute and a former member of the National Salary Council, said when he himself visited workers, he heard of female workers who agreed to commercial surrogacy at a rate of US$10,000-12,000.
“They have to do so to make ends meet, because the salary was too low to cover their daily needs, let alone savings for the future,” he said.
When it comes to legal protection, the country falls short.
Trade unions’ lack of bargaining skills and power, as well as exhaustion and potential loss of jobs, are the hindrances for the workers to raise their voices and fight for their rights.
Ironically, all workers asked said they aspire to have higher wages but are wary of pushing too hard as it could put their livelihoods at risk. Two workers in Ninh Bình Province told researchers of the Oxfam study that even though they had disagreements with their working conditions, no one dared lead a strike – even the union president.
Earlier ratification?
Given these issues, maybe the Government should consider earlier ratification of ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association rather than by 2023.
Currently in Việt Nam, there is only one legally recognised system of trade unions. The organisation of trade unions is prescribed by the Charter of Vietnamese Trade Unions adopted by the Việt Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL).
ILO international labor standards require that trade unions must be independent of authorities in both organisational operation and financial issues; and trade unions must also be independent of employers in carrying out their activities.
In Việt Nam, trade unions are defined in the Constitution 2013 as socio-political organisations of the working class, and in reality are strongly reliant on the state in terms of both financial support and personnel management.
That, somehow, explains the shortcomings of trade unions in protecting workers’ rights.
For a better future, trade unions in Việt Nam, either working independently or under the labour confederation, should always work to ensure labourers’ rights are met. They should work to make sure more efforts are put into lifting employees’ earnings to the living wage standard, social protection for all workers is guaranteed and to foster a friendly environment for collective bargaining.
In order to do this, Việt Nam’s current trade unions have much to do to renew themselves aggressively. Free trade agreements like the EVFTA, together with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), are thus very important to encourage the country’s leaders and policymakers to stay on the course of effective reform.
Although domestic law – the revised Labour Code – might already be in conformity with the ILO’s substantive provisions, actual procedural provisions of the ILO’s Conventions will require employers to seriously carry out certain obligations provided by the supervisory mechanism of the ILO.
Incorporating and implementing ILO Convention 87 in Việt Nam will contribute to making the country more reliable and respected in international trade relations. Doing this would also ensure the security of employment relationships, which play an important role in maintaining socio-political stability, fostering economic growth, and attracting FDI to the country.
There are many reasons for Việt Nam to continue its employment relationship reform, and do it soon, because it would only bring about benefits for all.
VNS
STRASBOURG — Was an intense two-week political operation to woo European lawmakers long enough to win German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen the top job in Brussels?
The 60-year-old conservative will replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission if she secures a majority in the Strasbourg assembly. If she fails – and Tuesday’s secret ballot could be close – then Europe faces a summer of institutional infighting between parliament and the 28 EU leaders.
And if her victory is secured only thanks to eurosceptic members, her position will be weakened even before she takes over as the commission’s first female leader in November.
She has had barely two weeks to make her case since the leaders declared her the nominee after a tense three-day summit, casting aside candidates backed by parliament.
But von der Leyen has responded with a series of written promises to the main centre-right, socialist and liberal blocs that she hopes will get her the necessary 374 votes.
And she announced on Monday that she would step down from Angela Merkel’s German government this week whatever happens in the vote, underlining her European ambitions.
The three main mainstream groups are expected to back her, but the Greens and the far-left will not, and the vote is a secret ballot that could contain surprises.
“It will be a small ‘yes’,” one well-placed European source predicted.
“She’ll be elected with fewer votes than Juncker was five years ago.”
The former Luxembourg premier received 422 endorsements, and anything less than 400 would be seen as disappointing for the German veteran minister and mother-of-seven.
The vote is scheduled to begin in the Strasbourg assembly at 6:00pm (1600 GMT) and the result announced around one-and-a-half to two hours later.
It will be keenly followed in the Brussels EU institutions and in the 28 European capitals.
The new head of the European Commission is due to take power on November 1, immediately after the latest deadline for Britain’s departure from the bloc.
He or she will have to manage the Brexit aftermath, Italy shirking its debt targets and efforts by Poland and Hungary to flout the EU-mandated rules of liberal democracy.
For that, the commission president will need a reliable majority in Strasbourg, but May’s elections threw up a more fragmented EU parliament than ever.
Frenetic horse-trading
At the same time, the pan-European political groups that came together after the vote are frustrated by the way von der Leyen’s candidacy was foisted on them.
Under the EU Treaty, the head of the commission is nominated by member state leaders, if necessary by a qualified majority vote.
But many in parliament and in the Brussels EU institutions wanted the 28 heads of government to choose one of the parliamentary groups’ lead candidates.
Instead, they cast aside those names and – after intense closed-door negotiations – chose to call on von der Leyen.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron had insisted on the leaders’ prerogative to choose, and Germany’s Angela Merkel was happy to find a role for an ally.
The biggest single group, her and Merkel’s conservative European People’s Party (EPP), will back her, despite seeing their parliamentary leader Manfred Weber cast aside.
But the centre-right’s 182 votes will not be enough by themselves, and the socialist S&D with 154 members and the liberal Renew Europe’s 108 are unconvinced.
The Greens, meanwhile, say she will not get their 74 votes, and the hard-left GUE/NGL will also withhold their 41.
The far-right Identity and Democracy, which includes Italy’s League, France’s National Rally and Germany’s AFD, says it is “unlikely” they will back Merkel’s ally.
Which leaves the right-wing eurosceptic ECR, weakened by the loss of many British Tories but still 62-strong thanks mainly to Poland’s PiS governing party.
The ECR has promised to be “pragmatic” and concerned officials admit it might be members hostile to closer EU integration that get von der Leyen over the line.
AFP