Ho Chi Minh City Trade Unions and Singapore Share Models for Supporting Female Workers

	Global Survey: Vietnam Ranks First for Gender Equality At Home and Work
	Proposals to Improve Support For Female Workers

On December 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor (HCMC FOL) held a working session with a delegation from the Women’s Committee under the National Trades Union Congress of Singapore (NTUC) to exchange information on each side’s notable achievements in recent years, particularly activities to care for and support female workers and the children of workers.

The meeting provided an opportunity to share experience in protecting female workers, family support models, and approaches to promoting gender equality. (Photo: T.L)

Enhancing women’s economic empowerment and capacity

At the meeting, Nguyen Kim Loan, Vice President of the HCMC FOL, said that the city’s trade union system currently manages more than 22,500 grassroots trade unions with over 2.5 million members, of whom nearly 1.46 million are women, accounting for about 58%. Female workers, civil servants, and employees now enjoy more stable employment than before, improved living standards, and are increasingly asserting their roles in production, labor, and community activities.

The HCMC FOL maintains annual, practical support programs for female union members, such as the “Workers’ Health Day,” which includes free gynecological and dental check-ups to help women access medical examinations and detect diseases early. The city’s trade unions also negotiate with enterprises to expand support for female workers, including mid-shift exercise programs, maternity health care, the provision of rest rooms, breast milk storage cabins, children’s rooms, and relaxation spaces at the workplace.

Nguyen Kim Loan, Vice President of the HCMC FOL, speaks at the meeting. (Photo: N.D)

For workers’ children, the Nguyen Duc Canh Scholarship Program continues to accompany tens of thousands of disadvantaged students. In 2024, the program awarded 17,905 scholarships with a total value of nearly VND 13 billion. The Thanh Da summer camp model has also been maintained, attracting nearly 15,000 child participants over the years. The movement “Good at public work, capable at home” has achieved many recognized results, with more than 23,000 female union members introduced to the Communist Party of Vietnam and over 5,500 becoming Party members.

Nguyen Kim Loan added that, alongside trade union programs, the Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union is implementing many models to support women’s comprehensive development, such as capital support, livelihood assistance, provision of working tools, job fairs, vocational training, entrepreneurship activities, start-up cafés, and initiatives to promote gender equality. These activities aim to enhance women’s economic empowerment and digital capacity in the context of a rapidly transforming labor market.

Stepping up the promotion of initiatives for women

Representing the Singapore delegation, Yeo Wan Ling, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress of Singapore (NTUC), highly commended the efforts and achievements of the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor (HCMC FOL) in caring for and supporting female union members.

She shared that the principle of gender equality is applied in Singapore’s labor legislation. Although there is no separate chapter specifically for women, the law ensures that all workers are treated fairly. Singapore is also implementing a new legal framework on flexible work arrangements, allowing employees to negotiate working hours and locations that are appropriate to the nature of their jobs. Enterprises that fail to comply with such agreements may be handled in accordance with the law.

Yeo Wan Ling, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress of Singapore. (Photo: T.L)

In addition, Singapore is strengthening sanctions against discrimination, expanding parental leave policies, and emphasizing the role of the family in labor policies. She expressed her impression of the specific benefits dành for female workers in Vietnam, such as six months of maternity leave and regulations allowing a one-hour reduction in daily working time for employees raising children under 12 months of age.

During the exchange, the two delegations also held in-depth discussions on retirement age, maternity policies, postnatal support, working conditions, and the role of trade union negotiation in protecting female workers. The NTUC representative expressed a desire to maintain delegation exchanges, promote cooperation, and jointly share initiatives to help women participate in the labor movement more effectively and sustainably.

The meeting concluded with expectations for an increasingly close cooperative relationship between the two trade union organizations, toward the shared goal of better caring for workers, especially female workers, amid the continuous transformation of the labor market.

Global Survey: Vietnam Ranks First for Gender Equality At Home and Work 33,326 people worldwide were interviewed and the findings showed Vietnam ranked among the countries with the highest index for gender equality in the world.

Proposals to Improve Support For Female Workers On the afternoon of November 30, in Hanoi, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor held a forum on "Improving the effectiveness of caring for and ...