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The International Labour Organization

The mission of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent work and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Four strategic objectives support this mission and guide the work of the ILO. These are: promoting fundamental principles and rights at work; creating greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and incomes; enhancing the coverage and effectiveness of social protection; and strengthening tripartism and social dialogue. The ILO fulfills its mission through the setting of international labour standards on a wide spectrum of of work-related activities and through the provision of technical assistance and advisory services to its tripartite constituency, comprising of the governments and employees' and workers' organizations of its Member States.

Key elements of the ILO's delivery system for its technical assistance include sixteen Multidisciplinary Teams based around the world to allow for greater proximity to the ILO's Member States; global programmes on child labour, working women, social exclusion and poverty and small enterprise development; and regional programmes which respond to region-specific concerns.

Background

Viet Nam was a member of the ILO during the periods 1950-76 and 1980-85. It rejoined the ILO in 1999 and the ILO's activities resumed at around this time with a project on Promulgation of the Labour Code which was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). The first Labour Code was drafted with ILO technical assistance and approved by the National Assembly in 1994. This fundamental labour legislation is intended to promote social justice and protect the rights of Vietnamese working people. The code is currently under revision.

Since 1992, the volume of technical cooperation in Viet Nam has grown progressively, in response to an increasing demand for ILO assistance on the part of its tripartite constituency. At the beginning of 2000, seven national projects were being implemented in the areas of labour administration, employment services, entrepreneurship development, social protection, women's employment and the development of ethnic minorities.

The basic thrust of the ILO's work in Viet Nam is to provide assistance and advice to the Government and the employers' and workers' representatives on on work-related issues. Activities in 2000-2001 can be grouped around four main areas: institutional capacity building; social dialogue; labour markets and employment; and social protection.

Institutional Capacity Building : Programmes are intended to strengthen the institutional and legal framework for the operation of a market system and the protection of workers, and to support the formulation and implementation of a sound national labour policy based on international labour standards. Areas of action include: strengthening of the labour administration system to effectively implement the labour code; assistance in the development of the social security and health insurance systems and the training of staff; technical assistance, policy advice and training for employment service centres; research and training on gender equality; research and policy advice on strategies for promotion of overseas employment and the establishment of a child labour unit and the training of staff.

Social Dialogue: Capacity building activities have also been undertaken with employers' and workers' organizations with a view to increasing their ability to participate in the tripartite social dialogue in the context of a market economy. Advisory services, training activities and demonstration exercises in selected businesses are being used to develop the capacity of these organizations to service their respective memberships and to operate effectively in the emerging labour management relations arena. Trade union support for workers in the informal sector is being fostered through activities at the regional level.

Labour Markets, Employment and Income: Programmes under this rubric focus on assisting in the development of appropriate employment policies and strategies to support greater opportunities for women and men to secure employment and incomes in the context of the transition to a market economy. Labour market monitoring and policy analysis have been assisted by the ILO, which has helped conduct labour force and establishment surveys, and develop guidelines on the use of labour statistics based on administrative records to improve the labour market. To promote employment, two parallel programmes aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of centres for employment services have been in operation over the past three years.

The promotion of private small and micro-enterprises, including family businesses - using the ILO's Start and Improve Your Business methodology - responses to the Government's identification of small and micro-enterprise promotion as a key area in its development strategy. Other assistance includes technical support for the establishment of a management training and consultancy centre for small and medium sized enterprises Ho chi Minh City.

Activities for the economic empowerment of women include : research and training on the mainstreaming of gender into policies; programmes and institutional mechanisms for employment; capacity-building for the provision of training and information to young women to facilitate the transition from school to work; and income generating activities for ethnic minority women, through the establishment of cooperative enterprises.

Social Protection: Two groups of activities are undertaken in this regard. The first promotes a safe and healthy working environment, and reduces and prevents work-related accidents and diseases. The second addresses formal systems of social protection.

Over the past four years, the ILO has worked with several line ministries and with the National Institute for Labour Protection to enhance community awareness of occupational safety and health (OSH), particularly in construction, fisheries and agriculture. An OSH database for information networking was set up two years ago. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, a national action programme and institutional framework have been developed to eliminate silicosis in Viet Nam. Technical and financial support is rendered in translating relevant ILO conventions, documents and training manuals into Vietnamese. A National Safety Week established in the context of these activities has now become an annual event in Viet Nam.

An ILO-executed project assisted the establishment of a system to administer a social insurance scheme for employed persons, and social assistance policies for vulnerable groups and those affected by the transition to a market economy. It provided staff training for two institutions involved and served as a vehicle for the discussion of the new social security legislation.