Vietnam, a good foundation for successful continuation of the long-term collaboration
January the first 2023, DECP has merged with PUM. In 2022, before the merger -and after two corona years- Martien Robertz of DECP visited Vietnam three more times. Together with the employers' organisations VCCI/VWEC, attentuin was mainly paid to the following three topics;
- Training trainers in conducting a leadership programme
- Orgganising workshops on “Developing partnerships to build sound industrial relations in enterprises”
- Organisting seminars on the implicatrions of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)
Martien Robertz, DECP country manager for Vietnam, described his experiences and those of the partners and participants in next story.
About the leadership development programme
In recent years, DECP has paid a lot of attention to training trainers in the field of Social Dialogue. Both in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City there are now trainers who can guide business sectors and companies through VCCI/VWEC in their contacts and negotiations with trade unions. Over the past two years, DECP has developed a leadership programme together with two expert groups and entrepreneurs. This program is entirely based on the starting points and principles of Social Dialogue and fits in well with recent developments such as those on fair labor relations and sustainability (the 5 P’s). DECP - and now PUM - is convinced that VCCI/VWEC has a currently relevant and urgent service for its members.
About the workshops “On develop partnerships to build sound industrial relations in enterprises”
To raise awareness of the usefulness and necessity of Social Dialogue in particular, VCCI/VWEC and DECP organised several workshops in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. Experts from the Ministry also contributed to this. The main program component, based on the 2019 Labor Code, was “Introducing and providing information in order to build a harmonious working environment and sound industrial relations”.
About the workshop on promoting opportunities for business cooperations with the EU: “Taking potential of EVFTA”
In 2020, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement entered into force in its entirety. This extensive and ambitious free trade agreement is very important for the Vietnamese economy because the EU - and certainly also the Netherlands - is a very important trade and investment partner. Together with the Dutch embassy in Hanoi and the Dutch consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, DECP organised seminars on the implications of this EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The main objective was “Connecting Vietnamese businesses, especially female-owned businesses, with European businesses by exploiting advantages and opportunities from the Vietnam - European Union free trade agreement”. The workshops, just like the workshops on the EVFTA, were given in three parts of the country.
To conclude
During the last mission in December, attention was paid to the merger of DECP and PUM, both in the Netherlands and with the local representatives of PUM in Vietnam. This has laid a good foundation for the successful continuation of the long-term collaboration.