HANOI (ILO News) – The 2017-21 Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Viet Nam has concluded with major achievements while the new programme for the next five years is expected to come into effect at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

The 2017-21 was the third cooperation framework between the ILO and tripartite constituents (the Government, workers’ and employers’ organizations) to address the decent work challenges in Viet Nam.

It set out three country priorities namely promoting decent employment and an enabling environment for sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities; reducing poverty by extending social protection and eliminating unacceptable forms of work, especially for the most vulnerable; and building effective labour market governance compliant with fundamental principles and rights at work.

Highlights of the achievements of the 2017-21 DWCP include improvements in employment policies and regulations, expansion of social protection, strengthening of industrial relations systems, and enhancing the legal framework for occupational safety and health.
“In the past five years, these achievements, which also include Viet Nam’s ratification of four ILO Conventions along with labour law reforms, provided better opportunities for more women and men in Viet Nam to access decent work,” said Nilim Baruah, Officer-in-Charge of ILO Viet Nam.

New programme in shape

Two national consultations on formulating the DWCP for the 2022-26 period took place in December 2021 in both online and in-person formats. The events were co-organized by the ILO and Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and witnessed active participation of representatives from workers and employers’ organizations, the Party Central Economic Committee, academia and provincial level partners from different parts of Viet Nam.

The 2022-26 DWCP is the fourth version of its kind to advance opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity in Viet Nam.
The three new country priorities focus on creating decent employment; expanding the scope and adequacy of social protection; and better labour market governance, through promotion of fundamental rights and principles at work and social dialogue.

“With the active participation of the tripartite partners in the drafting of the DWCP, we hope the new DWCP will be ready for appraisal and approval by end of the first quarter or early second quarter 2022,” said Nguyen Manh Cuong, Director General of MOLISA’s International Cooperation Department.

The consultations provided the floor for the ILO and its tripartite constituents and other stakeholders to find out the best ways to bring decent work to all.

The development of the 2022-26 DWCP took place when Viet Nam experiences significant economic and social transformation. The Government has adopted its Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-30 period and the 2021-25 Socio-Economic Development Plan which aim to turn Viet Nam into an upper middle income by 2030 and a high income country by 2045. Viet Nam has been coping with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in all aspects of life and the world of work. The United Nations in Viet Nam is also in the process of adopting a new Sustainable Development Country Framework in partnership with the Government of Viet Nam.