Decree No. 60/2013/NĐ-CP detailing Clause 3 of Article 63 of the Labor Code on implementing the Regulations on grassroots democracy at workplaces

DECREE

Details of Clause 3, Article 63 of the Labor Code on implementing the regulations on democracy at the workplace

The Government issues this Decree to provide details of Clause 3, Article 63 of the Labor Code on implementing the regulations on democracy at the workplace.

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Based on the Labor Code dated June 18, 2012;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs,

This Decree stipulates the contents of the regulations on democracy at the workplace and the forms of implementing democracy at the workplace for enterprises, organizations, cooperatives, households, and individuals who hire workers under labor contracts (hereinafter referred to as enterprises).

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

3. Trade union organizations representing workers at the workplace as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 3 of the Labor Code.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Workers as defined in Clause 1, Article 3 of the Labor Code.

2. Employers as defined in Clause 2, Article 3 of the Labor Code.

4. Agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of the regulations on democracy at the workplace at the workplace as prescribed in this Decree.

1. Regulations on democracy at the workplace at the workplace are provisions regarding the rights and responsibilities of workers, employers, and trade union organizations with contents that workers have the right to know, participate in opinions, make decisions, inspect, supervise, and forms of implementing democracy at the workplace at the workplace.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

2. Workplace dialogue is direct exchange between employers and workers or representatives of trade unions and employers aimed at sharing information, enhancing mutual understanding between employers and workers to ensure the implementation of regulations on democracy at the workplace at the workplace.

3. Workers' meeting is an organized meeting held annually by the employer with the participation of workers and trade union organizations at the workplace to exchange information and implement democratic rights for workers.

Article 4. Principles of implementing regulations on grassroots democracy at the workplace

1. Employers must respect and ensure the democratic rights of workers at the workplace; democratic rights are exercised within the framework of the law through the enterprise's regulations on democracy.

2. Enterprises must establish and publicly disclose the regulations on democracy at the workplace at the workplace to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of workers, employers, and the State.

Article 5. Prohibited acts when implementing democracy at the workplace

1. Implementing against legal provisions.

2. Violating national security, social order and safety, and the State's interests.

3. Violating the rights and legitimate interests of employers and workers.

4. Persecuting, discriminating against those participating in dialogue, complainants, and accusers.

CONTENTS OF REGULATIONS ON DEMOCRACY AT THE WORKPLACE

Chapter II

Article 6. Contents that employers must disclose

1. Production and business plans and the implementation status of production and business plans of the enterprise, departments, workshops, teams, and production units.

2. Enterprise rules, regulations, and provisions, including: labor rules; recruitment and employment regulations; labor norms; salary scales, regulations on salary grade increases, salary payment regulations, bonus payments; labor protective equipment, machine operation procedures, safety, hygiene, environmental protection, fire prevention; business confidentiality, technology confidentiality; competition, rewards, discipline.

3. Implementation status of recruitment, employment policies, severance pay, unemployment benefits, training, retraining, professional skill improvement, wages, bonuses, wage deductions, social insurance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance for workers.

4. Collective labor agreements of the enterprise, industry collective labor agreements, other forms of collective labor agreements (if any).

5. Establishment and use of reward funds, welfare funds, and other funds contributed by workers.

6. Payment of union dues, social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, and unemployment insurance contributions.

7. Annual financial disclosure of the enterprise concerning matters related to workers.

8. Enterprise operation charter and other contents as prescribed by law.

8. Articles of association of the enterprise and other contents as prescribed by law.

Article 7. Contents on which workers provide opinions

1. Drafting or amending and supplementing internal regulations, rules, and provisions must be publicly disclosed at the enterprise.

2. Measures to save costs, improve labor productivity, ensure labor safety, hygiene, environmental protection, and fire prevention.

3. Drafting or amending and supplementing collective labor agreements of the enterprise, industry-level collective labor agreements, and other forms of collective labor agreements (if any).

4. Resolutions of the workers' meeting.

5. Procedures and processes for resolving labor disputes, handling disciplinary actions against workers, and material responsibilities.

6. Other contents related to the rights and obligations of workers as stipulated by law.

Article 8. Contents on which workers make decisions

1. Entering into, performing, amending, supplementing, or terminating labor contracts in accordance with the law.

2. Content of negotiations for collective labor agreements of the enterprise, industry-level collective labor agreements, and other forms of collective labor agreements (if any).

3. Approving resolutions of the workers' meeting.

4. Joining or not joining trade unions, occupational associations, and other organizations as prescribed by law.

5. Participating or not participating in strikes.

6. Other contents as prescribed by law.

Article 9. Contents on which workers monitor and supervise

1. Implementing the business production plan of the enterprise, departments, workshops, teams, and production units.

2. Performing labor contracts and implementing legal policies and systems for workers.

3. Implementing internal regulations, rules, and provisions that must be publicly disclosed at the enterprise.

4. Implementing collective labor agreements of the enterprise, industry-level collective labor agreements, and other forms of collective labor agreements (if any); implementing resolutions of the workers' meeting and resolutions of the grassroots trade union organization meeting.

5. Establishing and using incentive funds, welfare funds, and other funds contributed by workers; paying trade union fees, social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions.

6. The situation of commendation and discipline; complaints and denunciations and their resolution results; conclusions of inspections and audits and implementation of inspection and audit recommendations related to the rights and interests of workers.

7. Implementing the company charter and other contents as prescribed by law.

8. Implementing the contents of the democratic regulation stipulated in this Decree.

Chapter III

FORMS OF DEMOCRATIC IMPLEMENTATION AT THE WORKPLACE

Section 1

CONVERSATIONS AT THE WORKPLACE

Article 10. Responsibilities for organizing regular conversations at the workplace

1. Regular conversations at the workplace shall be organized and hosted by the employer, in coordination with the representative organization of workers at the grassroots level, every three months to discuss the contents stipulated in Article 64 of the Labor Code; the maximum interval between two consecutive regular conversations shall not exceed ninety days. In cases where the time for organizing regular conversations coincides with the time for organizing the workers' meeting as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree, the enterprise does not need to organize regular conversations.

2. The employer has the responsibility to:

a) Issue the regulation on regular conversations at the workplace after consulting the opinion of the representative organization of workers at the grassroots level and publicly disseminating it to each worker in the enterprise for implementation;

b) Arrange the location, time, and other necessary material conditions to ensure the conversation;

c) Appoint representatives from the employer's side to participate in the conversation;

d) Organize regular conversations at the workplace.

3. The representative organization of workers at the grassroots level has the responsibility to:

a) Provide opinions on the regulation on regular conversations at the workplace upon the request of the employer;

b) Organize the election of representatives from the workers' side to participate in the conversation at the workers' meeting;

c) Coordinate with the employer to organize and implement regular conversations at the workplace.

Article 11. Quantity, composition, and criteria for members participating in regular dialogue at the workplace

1. Each party participating in the dialogue decides on the number of representatives to participate in the dialogue; each party must have at least three representatives.

2. The composition of participants includes:

a) The employer or a person authorized by the employer and other members representing the employer's side appointed by the employer;

b) The grassroots trade union executive board or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established, and other members representing the employee collective elected by the employee assembly;

3. The criteria for members participating in regular dialogue are stipulated in the regular dialogue regulations at the workplace of the enterprise.

Article 12. Procedure for regular dialogue at the workplace

1. Preparation of content, time, venue, and participants for the dialogue:

a) Within sixty days from the end date of the previous immediate dialogue session, the employer and the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established shall compile the content and send the dialogue request content to the other party;

b) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the dialogue request content, the employer and the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established shall agree on the content, time, venue, and participants for the regular dialogue at the workplace;

c) Within three days from the date both parties agree on the content, time, venue, and participants for the regular dialogue at the workplace, the employer shall issue a written decision to organize the regular dialogue at the workplace. The decision to organize the regular dialogue at the workplace must be sent to the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established and to all participants in the dialogue at least five working days before the dialogue date;

d) The employer and the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established shall assign the members of each party to prepare the content, data, and related materials for the dialogue.

2. Conducting the dialogue:

a) The regular dialogue at the workplace is organized at the agreed venue and time. In case the employer changes the venue or time of the dialogue, they must notify the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established and the members of the regular dialogue group at the workplace at least one working day before the scheduled dialogue date as recorded in the decision to organize the regular dialogue at the workplace;

b) The regular dialogue at the workplace can only proceed with the presence of at least two-thirds of the representatives from each side. If the dialogue does not have at least two-thirds of the representatives from each side, the employer decides to postpone the dialogue to a later time, but the postponement period cannot exceed three working days from the date of the postponed dialogue;

c) During the dialogue, the participants have the responsibility to provide information, data, materials, exchange, and democratically discuss the dialogue contents.

3. Conclusion of the dialogue:

a) The employer and the chairman of the grassroots trade union or a representative of the directly superior-level trade union executive board where no grassroots trade union has been established shall record the minutes of the dialogue. The minutes of the dialogue shall clearly state the agreed contents and measures for implementation; the unresolved contents and the time for conducting the dialogue on the unresolved contents or each side proceeding with labor dispute resolution procedures as prescribed by labor laws. Representatives from both sides sign and stamp to confirm the content of the minutes. The minutes of the regular dialogue at the workplace shall be made in three copies, each having equal validity, with each participating party holding one copy and one copy retained at the enterprise;

b) The employer is responsible for publicly posting the minutes of the regular dialogue at the workplace within the enterprise, departments, workshops, teams, production units, and uploading them on the internal broadcasting system, information system, or the enterprise's website.

Article 13. Dialogue when one party requests

1. In cases where one party requests to organize dialogue, within ten working days from the date of receipt of the content of the dialogue request, the employer shall be responsible for coordinating with the representative organization of the labor collective at the workplace to organize the dialogue.

2. The number and composition of participants in the dialogue and the responsibilities of each party in organizing the dialogue shall be carried out similarly to regular dialogues at the workplace.

Section 2

LABOR MEETING

Article 14. Organizing the labor meeting

1. Enterprises with ten or more employees must organize a labor meeting.

2. The labor meeting shall be organized once every twelve months.

3. The labor meeting shall be organized in the form of a general assembly for enterprises with less than one hundred employees, and in the form of a representative meeting for enterprises with one hundred or more employees.

Article 15. Responsibilities for organizing the labor meeting

1. The employer shall be responsible for establishing the regulations on organizing the labor meeting, arranging the venue, time, necessary material conditions, and organizing the labor meeting. The regulations on organizing the labor meeting shall be issued after consulting the opinions of the representative organization of the labor collective at the workplace and must be publicly disseminated to the employees in the enterprise.

2. The representative organization of the labor collective at the workplace shall be responsible for coordinating with the employer to participate in building and implementing the regulations on organizing the labor meeting.

Article 16. Composition of participants in the labor meeting

1. The composition of participants in the general assembly includes all employees in the enterprise. In cases where employees cannot leave their production positions, the employer and the representative organization of the labor collective at the workplace shall agree on the composition of participants in the meeting.

2. The composition of participants in the representative meeting includes:

a) Ex officio representatives including members of the Board of Directors or Members' Council or Chairman of the Company, Head of the Supervisory Board or Supervisor; General Director, Director, Deputy General Director, Deputy Director, Chief Accountant, Executive Committee of the grassroots trade union or representative of the directly superior trade union executive committee in places without a grassroots trade union, head of political organizations, political-social organizations in the enterprise (if any);

b) Elected representatives are those elected by the labor meeting of departments, divisions, workshops, teams, production units according to the provisions.

Article 17. Electing representatives to attend the representative meeting

1. The minimum number of elected representatives is specified as follows:

a) For enterprises with one hundred employees, elect at least fifty representatives;

b) For enterprises with one hundred and one to less than one thousand employees, in addition to the initial number of representatives required under Point a Clause 1 of this Article, elect at least five additional representatives for every one hundred employees;

c) For enterprises with one thousand employees, elect at least one hundred representatives;

d) For enterprises with one thousand and one to less than five thousand employees, in addition to the initial number of representatives required under Point c Clause 1 of this Article, elect at least twenty additional representatives for every one thousand employees;

đ) For enterprises with five thousand employees or more, elect at least two hundred representatives.

2. The employer and the representative organization of the labor collective at the workplace shall agree and decide on the number and structure of elected representatives attending the representative meeting and allocate the number and structure of elected representatives corresponding to the number and structure of employees in each department, division, workshop, team, production unit.

3. Elected representatives must obtain more than fifty percent of the total valid votes; in case of occurrences during the election process, they shall be handled as follows:

a) In cases where multiple people achieve more than fifty percent of the total valid votes, select them in descending order from the highest number of votes until the allocated number of representatives is filled;

b) In cases where the first round of voting does not fill the allocated number of representatives, continue voting until the required number of representatives is filled;

c) In cases where multiple people achieve more than fifty percent of the total valid votes and have the same number of votes exceeding the allocated number of representatives, conduct another vote among those with the same number of votes to select the person with the higher number of votes until the allocated number of representatives is filled.

Article 18. Contents of the Workers' Conference

1. The Workers' Conference shall discuss the following contents:

a) The situation regarding the implementation of the production and business plan of the enterprise and matters directly related to the employment of workers and the interests of the enterprise;

b) The results of monitoring the implementation of labor contracts, collective labor agreements, internal regulations, and other rules and regulations of the enterprise;

c) The situation of complaints and denunciations and their resolution;

d) Working conditions and measures to improve working conditions;

đ) Proposals and recommendations from each side;

e) Other contents of interest to both parties.

2. Elect representatives of the workforce to participate in regular dialogues.

3. Approving resolutions of the workers' meeting.

Article 19. Procedures for organizing the Workers' Conference

1. Elect the conference chair and secretary.

2. Report on the qualifications of delegates attending the conference.

3. Report by the employer.

4. Report by the representative organization of the workforce at the workplace.

5. Delegates discuss.

6. Elect representatives of the workforce to participate in regular dialogues.

7. Vote to approve the resolutions of the Workers' Conference.

Article 20. Publicizing, implementing, and supervising the implementation of the Workers' Conference resolutions

1. The employer is responsible for hosting and coordinating with the representative organization of the workforce at the workplace to publicize the results of the Workers' Conference to all workers and implement the resolutions of the Workers' Conference within the enterprise.

2. The representative organization of the workforce at the workplace is responsible for coordinating with the employer to publicize the results of the Workers' Conference to all workers in the enterprise; organize inspections and supervision of the implementation of the Workers' Conference resolutions within the enterprise.

3. Delegates attending the Workers' Conference are responsible for publicizing the results and resolutions of the Workers' Conference to workers who did not attend the conference in departments, workshops, teams, and production units where they were elected as representatives.

Section 3

OTHER FORMS OF DEMOCRATIC IMPLEMENTATION

Article 21. Other forms of democratic implementation

1. Providing and exchanging information at key leadership meetings or at meetings from teams to the entire enterprise or at specialized meetings of departments, divisions, workshops, teams, and production units.

2. Publicly posting at convenient locations within the enterprise.

3. Providing information through the internal broadcasting system, internal information network, internet, or in writing, books, newspapers sent to each worker, department, division, workshop, team, and production unit.

4. Suggestion boxes.

5. Organizing direct opinions from workers, implemented by employers, political organizations, and socio-political organizations within the enterprise.

6. Deciding by written resolution.

7. Voting at meetings and conferences within the enterprise.

8. Proposing, complaining, and denouncing according to the provisions of the law.

Article 22. Application of other forms of democratic implementation in enterprises

Employers, workers, and representative organizations of the workforce at the workplace shall base their selection of democratic implementation methods stipulated in Article 21 of this Decree on the specific content of the democratic regulations prescribed in Chapter II of this Decree and the actual conditions of the enterprise.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 23. Effectiveness of Implementation

THIS DECREE SHALL TAKE EFFECT FROM AUGUST 15, 2013.

Decision No. 07/1999/NĐ-CP dated February 13, 1999, of the Government promulgating the regulations on democratic implementation in state-owned enterprises, Decision No. 87/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2007, of the Government promulgating the regulations on democratic implementation in joint-stock companies and limited liability companies, and previous conflicting regulations shall be terminated upon the effective date of this Decree.

Article 24. Responsibility for Implementation

The Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency, Head of an agency under the Government, Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities, and entities subject to this Decree are responsible for its implementation./.​