ILO Director of Department of Partnerships and Field Support Rie Vejs-Kjeldgaard. — VNS Photo Khanh Van

Vietnam has ratified three more ILO conventions in 2019 alone, including the fundamental Convention 98 on collective bargaining. What is its implication for the ILO – Vietnam relationship?

First, I would like to congratulate Vietnam on the major achievement of having ratified three conventions this year.

One of the conventions – Convention 98 on collective bargaining – is a fundamental convention. Meanwhile, another convention is about employment opportunities for people with disabilities and the other concerns employment services to increase the efficiency of the labour market.

Ratifying these conventions are major achievements for Vietnam, as they set the basis for the country to continue its economic and social development.

Vietnam has ratified 24 conventions of the ILO over the years.

It is important to note that countries have already gone through a long journey before getting to the level of ratification of that convention. That long journey often takes years. And when ratified, it does not mean it is done. You’ve reached a milestone but it is the start of another journey of its implementation and realisation.

The journey towards ratification of the convention and the journey to implement it could not be achieved without the support of many actors in Vietnam, including the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with many other stakeholders in Vietnam.

It also requires effective cooperation with the ILO in Vietnam. And when the ILO is involved, it means that a lot of financial support and general support of development partners has been in place for Vietnam on that journey. Going ahead, their support is very important, and the ILO in Vietnam and the ILO in general is at their disposal for the continued journey.

As a middle-income country, does Vietnam have difficulties in accessing international support in labour and employment issues?

The development partners often have primary interests in working with countries that have lower income status. However, it is recognised that even a middle income country can still have many challenges in both economic and social issues. That’s certainly the case not only for Vietnam but in general for all countries.

As a middle income country today, Vietnam still faces challenges and development partners do want to accompany the country in its continued progress, although they may want to focus their support in a different way. At the same time, they want to work with Vietnam as they expect the country to grow and be able to do more and more on its own.

What should be the way forward for Vietnam to continue taking advantage of support from the international community in labour and employment issues?

I think Vietnam has always had many development partners that want to accompany the country in its continued journey. ILO and its development partners are always there to support Vietnam.

To make development partners interested in working with Vietnam, the country needs to define clearly what it wants to do, how it will move forward, and indicate what it needs for support from development partners, including ILO. Vietnam has always been good at that and will need to continue that way.

It also means defining what are economic, employment and social sustainable development goals as well as environmental challenges that Vietnam is facing.

You were Director of ILO Vietnam in 2007-11. Have you noticed changes in Vietnam upon your return to the country this time?

I had the privilege of living in Vietnam for almost five years in 2007-11, that period coincided with the journey that took Vietnam from a lower income country to passing the threshold of a middle income country. It was an impressive achievement.

It was the period of time when Vietnam had a lot of initiatives in labour, employment and social fields: developing employment strategies and skills development strategies, or improving data for social and labour areas, to name a few. The country also ratified several ILO conventions at that time. All of these created the basis for where Vietnam has moved today.

Vietnam is now a lower middle income country and in a few years, Vietnam will continue to move to an upper middle income country. It means the labour market and employment situation have changed dramatically. The population and the labour force have increased in size. Some of the issues that we worked on are less a challenge today but new challenges have emerged such as labour shortage. And not far from now, the aging population will be also an issue for Vietnam.

No matter how a country progresses, new issues will come. But Vietnam has constantly seized new opportunities and managed to use its potentials and the progress has been enormous. VNS