Answer:
- Level of trade union due for the Employee as a union member?
1.1 Levels of trade union due
Any Employee as a union member must pay union dues when the grassroots trade union at his or her workplace has been established. The union due levels for the Employee as a union member is specifically stipulated as follows[1]:
- For any Employee as a member in the trade unions of a non-State enterprise (including trade unions of the joint-stock companies where the State does not hold dominant shares); non-public non-business units that will enjoy salaries beyond the payroll and salary grades prescribed by the State; the union of cooperatives; foreign organisations and international organisations operating in the Vietnamese territory; managing offices of the foreign parties to business cooperation contracts in Vietnam; union members working abroad, the union due rate is equal to 1% of the salary as a basis for SI payment under the Law on SI (but the maximum monthly union due rate is only equal to 10 % of the base salary as prescribed by the State); and
- For any Employee as union members in the grassroots trade unions of the State agencies; political organisations, socio-political organisations, socio-political and professional organisations, social organisations, socio-professional organisations, units of the people’s armed forces; non-business units enjoying salaries under the payroll and salary grades prescribed by the State, the monthly union dues rate will be equal to 1% of their salaries serving as a basis for SI payment under the Law on SI.
The salary serving as a basis for SI payment is the one calculated in terms of grade, title, LC, employment contracts, position allowances, beyond-bracket seniority allowances, and occupational seniority allowances. When the salary as the basis for SI payment is changed, the salary as a basis for paying union dues will change in accordance with the Law on SI[2].
1.2 Method of paying union dues
Any Employee as a union member may pay union dues in one of the following ways:
- Paying direct each month to union groups or department of union/members of grassroots trade union/grassroots trade union/syndicate of the Grassroots trade union (as delegated by grassroots trade unions, syndicates); or
- Being collected through monthly salary (in cash or by transfer) after the agreement by the union member. In this case, the union due to collection proceeds must be certified by the corporate accounting department and there is a detailed list of union members paying union dues.
2. Violation in terms of union due payment
According to the Charter of the Vietnamese Trade Union, a union member is obligated to pay union dues[3], therefore, union due payment is compulsory for the Employee as a union member. When the Employee as a union member violates the regulations on paying union dues including failure to pay, delayed payment or inadequate payment as opposed to the prescribed level, the group, individuals, and related persons assigned in the collection and remittance of union dues will not be considered for nomination of the title of “emulative soldier” of the year and this will be concurrently notified concurrently to the EC of the Immediate Superior TU[4].
Apart from the said provisions, the current law only stipulates the administrative sanctions and the forced retrospective collection of trade union dues against the Employer[5] without further stipulating the responsibilities of the Employee as a union member in case of his or her failure to pay, delayed payment or inadequate payment as opposed to the prescribed level. Therefore, at present, there is no legal basis to punish or impute the blame to the Employee upon his or her violation of the regulations on paying union dues. However, in practice, any Employee who violates the regulations on paying union dues may be underestimated in terms of their behaviours and expressions in jobs, and Employer’ compliance with the regulations as well as union activities will be similarly assessed.
3. Under Decision No. 1908/QD-TLD, a trade union member is not required to pay union dues in any of the following cases:
- Any Union member who enjoys SI benefits for one month or more, shall not pay union dues during benefit entitlement; and
- Any Union member who has no job, has no income, leaves his or her job for one month or more without salary, no union due is required during this period.
Apart from the cases where the union dues are not paid, the law does not stipulate any other cases where the Employee as a union member will be exempted from or reduced in paying union dues.
[1] Article 23 of Decision 1908/QD-TLD dated 19 December 2016
[2]Article 23.1 of Decision 1908/QD-TLD dated 19 December 2016
[3] Article 1 of Vietnam Trade Union’s Charter issued with Decision No. 174/QD-TLD dated 03 February 2020
[4] Article 28 of Decision 1908/QD-TLD dated 19 December 2016
[5]Article 37 of Decree 28/2020/ND-CP of the Government dated 01 February 2020
