A national symposium was held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 9 to discuss the current impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) on labour relations and work quality in foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam.

At the event 

Speaking at the event, Director of the HCM City branch of the University of Labour and Social Affairs Pham Ngoc Thanh spoke highly of FDI firms’ active contributions to socio-economic development over the past three decades. 

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government only advocates the approval of FDI projects which are committed to environmental protection, technological transfer, and the use of skilled workforce between now and 2030. 

Thanh said that within the Industry 4.0 era, FDI enterprises tend to adopt low-cost strategies, leading to conflicts of interest with workers. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s human resources index remains low, ranking 70th out of 100 in ASEAN. The country ranked 81st in terms of skilled workforce and 80th for vocational training quality out of the bloc’s 100. 

He suggested fine-tuning the legal framework; investing more in education, especially vocational training and infrastructure; and enhancing ties between vocational training establishments and businesses. 

Associate Professor Banh Quoc Tuan from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology said amid global integration and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Vietnam will welcome a contingent of foreign workers and automation process instead of manual workers. Therefore, he proposed improving the highly-skilled workforce to ensure productivity increases. 

Associate Professor Hoang Thanh Xuan from the Trade Union University highlighted the need to refine trade unions in FDI firms as nearly 60 percent of them have yet to organise trade unions, contributing to ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of workers. 

Participants shared the view that the Industry 4.0 has laid the foundation for the economy reliant on national resources and low-cost workforce to intellectual one. 

They suggested measures regarding the rights and interests of firms in the market economy, as well as technological application in building conflict management systems to mediate labour disputes, among others.