An Law Viet Nam Company Limited

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An Law Viet Nam Company Limited
Litigation Representation

Labor Conflicts/ Labor negotiation

While conducting business, there will be disagreements between enterprise and employee, especially disagreement regarding salary, bonus, working hours. Without proper settlement, the disagreements between two parties (employer and employee) will be more serious and become conflicts; affecting both parties’ rights and reputation.

Labor conflict: Is a conflict about rights and responsibilities, benefits between parties arising from the forming, conducting and terminating labor relationship; conflict among labor representative agencies; conflict from other relationships arises directly from labor relationships. There are two types of labor conflicts, “individual conflict” and “collective conflict”.

Collective bargain: Is a negotiation, discussing between one party which is defined as one or multiple labor representative agencies and one party is defined as one or multiple employer or employer representative agency. The discussion, negotiation is to form working conditions, regulate labor relationships and build a positive, developed and stable labor relationship. Collective bargain is an effective tool to prevent as well as settle labor conflict.

Relevant legal documents:

  1. Law on Labor 2019
  2. Law on Civil Lawsuit 2015

Collective Bargain Principles

Collective bargains must be conducted following the principle of voluntary collaboration, good-will, equality, public notification and transparency. Both employer (enterprise) and employee (labor representative agency) have the right to request collective bargaining regarding the issues they concern. The recipient is not allowed to refuse the collective bargain.
The participants from each side will be negotiated by them. The participants from each side will be determined respectively.

Collective bargain at enterprise

  1. Within 7 days counting from the day of receiving request and content of the bargain, parties negotiate about location, time (no more than 30 days counting from the day receiving collective bargain request)
  2. Employers are liable to allocate time, location and other logistic arrangements to organize the meeting.
  3. The collective bargain cannot exceed 90 days counting from the first bargain day, unless the parties require otherwise
  4. During the collective bargain procedure, should there be a request from employee representative then within 10 days counting from the day of receiving request, employer is responsible for providing information about production and business activities and other information relevant directly to the negotiable issues within the capability of enterprise to create beneficial situations for the collective bargain meeting, unless the information is trade secret, technology secret of employer.
  5. The collective bargain meeting must be formed in meeting minutes which includes the content agreed by all parties and content that is not. The minutes must have the signature of all representatives and of the minutes maker.
  6. Employee representative agencies notify the collective bargaining meeting publicly to all employees.

Unsettled collective bargain

  1. Including the following situations:
  2. One party refuses to negotiate or not negotiate within the regulated timeline.
  3. The timeline has ended but no final decision has been reached.
  4. The timeline has not ended but parties declare that no agreement can be reached.

When the collective bargain is not successful, pirates will proceed with conflict settlement following this code. Within the labor conflict settlement, employee representatives are not allowed to organize a strike.

Labor Conflict Settlement

Individual labor conflict: must be settled by labor mediator before fling to Labor Arbitration Council or Court, beside the following labor conflicts:

  1. The discipline method is fire or unilaterally terminate labor contract not comply with the law;
  2. Damage compensation, allowances when terminating labor contract;
  3. Conflict between housekeeper and employer;
  4. About compulsory insurances (Social Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, occupational accident and disease insurance);
  5. Damage compensation between Employee with enterprise, agency sent Employee to work in foreign country by Contract;
  6. Between the employer and employee in the outsourcing industry.

Collective Labor Conflicts (about rights): must be settled by labor mediator before fling to Labor Arbitration Council or Court
Collective Labor Conflicts (about benefits): must be settled by labor mediator before fling to Labor Arbitration Council or Court or organizing a strike

Mediation at labor mediator:

  1. After labor mediator receives the request, mediation will proceed within 5 working days
  2. Both parties involved in the conflict must present at the mediation process. Party can authorize other people to attend the mediation meeting
  3. If the final agreement is reached, labor mediators form successful mediation minutes. The successful minute must included all pirates and mediator signature
  4. If the final agreement is not reached or one party refuses to attend the meeting without reasonable excuse after two official notifications, then mediators form an unsuccessful minute. The unsuccessful minute must included all pirates and mediator signature
  5. The copy of successful or unsuccessful mediation minutes must be delivered to parties within 1 day counting from the date minutes formed.

Conflict settlement at Labor Arbitrator Council

  1. Within prior agreement, parties can request the Labor Arbitrator Council settle the conflict. When parties have requested the settlement by the Labor Arbitrator Council, they shall not request Court settlement at the same time.
  2. Labor Arbitrator Council will be formed within 02 working days counting from the date of receiving the request
  3. Within 30 days counting the date the Labor Arbitrator Council formed, the Labor Arbitrator Council must issue a settlement decision and deliver it to the parties.
  4. In case parties do not implement the Labor Arbitrator Council decision then they can request for court settlement

Court Settlement:

  1. Parties proceed following the Law on Civil Lawsuit. The complain party must file a complaint, deliver to the authorized court (with relevant documents)
  2. Parties will define plaintiff, defendant, stakeholders … and will notify meetings to collect information, mediation follows the law before an official hearing.
  3. Hearing decision will be valid if there are no appeals from both parties. In an appeal case, the appeal court will continue to follow the appeal procedure, the appeal decision will be immediately effective.
  4. Labor conflict is an unwanted situation, so it is recommended that both enterprise and employee should solve the disagreement in the initial stage, in good-will and sympathy spirit. Especially, there should be annual dialogue between enterprise and employee to share information in an effective way, avoid disagreement, conflict for misunderstanding, and wrong information.

Should you have any questions regarding the above allowances, please don’t hesitate to contact An Luat Viet Nam for support and advice.Our law firms with professional lawyers, experience in consulting, will foster your business and solve problems at the workplace. AnLaw Lawyer will accompany clients in collective bargaining, negotiation among parties, participate with or represent on the settlement courts, or at the Labor Arbitrator Council.

In case of court settlement, An Luật Việt Nam provides lawsuit services (writing complaint, authorized representative, lawsuit lawyer, appeal file, appeal…) to guarantee the best benefit of clients.