The strategy of trade union revitalisation in Vietnam
Creators: name: Nguyen, Phuong Bac
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350503
subject: Human resources management
classificationCode: 350504
subject: Industrial and employee relations

description: This thesis explores strategies of trade union revitalisation in Vietnam. Since 1986, Vietnamese trade unions have played an important role as the economy has shifted from being centrally planned to market oriented, known as the Doi Moi or Renovation policy. This research provides empirical knowledge on strategies of trade union revitalisation in Vietnam, as there has been limited research on this topic in the Vietnamese context.<br><br>Union revitalisation has occurred across many nations over recent decades. In advanced industrial countries, trade unions have adopted such strategies of union revitalisation as building union-management partnerships, political action, union restructuring, coalition building, and international solidarity. In Asian countries, revitalisation of trade unions encompasses strategies including increases in union autonomy, a renewed emphasis on organising, changes in union structures, alliances between unions and civil society groups, increased member servicing, and internationalisation of union activity. Since Doi Moi, the adoption of strategies for trade union revitalisation in Vietnam appears paradoxical, because it is unclear whether Vietnamese trade unions choose a close relationship between union and management, as is the traditional characteristic of communist trade unions, or choose an adversarial relationship with management, as found in traditional theories on trade unions in advanced industrial economies. Therefore, this raises the question of what are strategies for trade union revitalisation in Vietnam during the Doi Moi era.<br><br>The present research addresses the above question with a qualitative approach, by collecting data from semi-structured interviews, unobtrusive observation, and analysis of documents. This research finds that, in Vietnam, the primary trade unions have operated by seeking employers’ support, as well as through negotiation and avoidance of direct confrontation with management. Investigating union members’ attitudes and union democracy, the present research also explored that, in the Vietnamese context, decentralisation with a wide range of membership participation in union decision-making processes, equality between leadership and membership, and free communication, were apparent. However, there has been a lack of organised opposition parties within trade unions in Vietnam, because of intolerance of opposition in communist tenets. At the workplace level, while the union members appear to have had less involvement in union operations, the union leaders have played important roles in conducting union daily tasks. This passivity or less involvement of union members and active role of union leaders in union operations suggests that the appropriate model of Vietnamese trade unions is the servicing model. From the above findings, this research argues that, in the context of transitional countries such as Vietnam, the strategy of building partnership relationships between trade unions and management is appropriate for trade union revitalisation, because this strategy has been formulated by the tendency for avoidance of direct confrontation with management, the passivity of membership, the active role of union leadership, and the union servicing model.<br><br>This research advances the literature on trade union revitalisation by proposing a link between the servicing model of trade unions and the partnership strategy of trade union revitalisation, in the context of Vietnam. This research also suggests that studies on trade union revitalisation and union democracy should concentrate on the passivity of members, which is a crucial aspect in the formulation of union strategy. From this research, recommendations are offered for union activists and academics on strategies for union revitalisation in Vietnam.