More than 400 state enterprises and private factories in Vientiane have signed on to collective bargaining agreements to protect the rights and benefits of both employees and employers.
Most people working at state enterprises are more satisfied with their working conditions than employees in factories, because some state enterprise workers earn a better income.
But both employees in state enterprises and privately-owned factories have seen their social welfare improve after many local businesses entered into collective bargaining agreements, which were initiated by the Lao Federation of Trade Unions and development partners in 2008.
This information was revealed last week at a meeting of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions and the National University of Laos, who have set up a joint cooperation programme. The meeting, which was chaired by the federation’s Vice President Mr Simoun Ounlasy, heard about the effects of collective bargaining agreement implementation.
Participants discussed the ways in which the collective bargaining agreements had helped to improve efforts to protect the rights and benefits of employees and employers.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement Implementation Committee presented a survey of the status changes of business units, employees and employers.
The survey showed that the status of business units had improved and that working conditions were safer in many cases, employees had better and stable jobs, and employees were earning a decent wage and enjoying social welfare benefits.
The average salary in some privately-owned factories is between 1-2 million kip per month and 2-5 million kip in some state enterprises in Vientiane.
It was also found that employees were paying more attention to their work, complying with workplace rules, sticking to working hours, showing more responsibility, and enjoying their work more.
Mostly people working at factories in Vientiane who were not normal residents of the capital came from Huaphan and Luang Prabang provinces, while most of those working at state enterprises who had migrated to Vientiane came from Vientiane province.
The status of employers had also changed for the better, as they had developed better relationships with employees, provided good advice, explained the situation when employees made a mistake, and gave larger bonuses on special occasions.
Some employers also provided facilities, housing and transport, and improved the workplace to provide more convenience for employees.
The Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry strongly believes that skill development, labour migration, education, and human resource development are important and benefit the country.
The Chamber advised that businesses should do more to develop labour skills, in addition to ploughing in more investment and creating more job opportunities for Lao people so that Laos can graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2020.
Source: Vientiane Times
