The "Morning Coffee - Listening to Union Members' Voices" program, initiated by He Vi Trading Production JSC in Hoa Loi Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, has become a direct dialogue forum connecting workers, union officials, local authorities, and corporate executives.
Over morning coffee, barriers between employees and employers are removed. Grievances regarding traffic infrastructure on National Highway 13, public security, or administrative bottlenecks are resolved instantly through union coordination rather than waiting through formal paperwork.
Chairwoman Pham Thi Ngoc Quyen of the grassroots labor union at He Vi Trading Production Company affirmed: "The union cannot stand on the sidelines, nor can it just be a shadow of the enterprise. We define the role of union officials as a bridge between the business, the local government, and the workers. At the corporate level, the union actively negotiates to ensure shift meals are not only nutritious but also high quality, and that commuting allowances and productivity bonuses are tied to fairness. When workers see their benefits clearly protected, they will be the ones protecting the business. That is the most sustainable harmony."
Hundreds of morning coffee programs and "Union Meals" aimed at listening to workers' voices were organized across factories and enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City during the 2026 Workers' Month. The programs not only resolved internal workplace friction but also gathered critical feedback on social housing and micro-loans. These inputs serve as valuable data for the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor to draft strategic policy recommendations for the authorities.
The city’s unions have successfully fulfilled their targets while strengthening the bond between the Party and the working class. Operating with a worker-centric mindset, local union levels have consistently supported and protected the legitimate rights and interests of union members and employees. This approach has delivered practical care to more than 7 million workers, contributing significantly to stable labor relations and local socio-economic growth.
Chairman Bui Thanh Nhan of the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor
Throughout 2025 and 2026, the city's labor unions organized over 26,000 dialogues at workplaces and coordinated more than 20,000 employee conferences at enterprises. Through these dialogues, legitimate worker demands regarding wages, bonuses, working hours, occupational safety, shift meals, and working environments were addressed promptly. Notably, the union's innovation is also reflected in the application of technology to monitor workers' living conditions. The "Digital Union" model being deployed across industrial parks and export processing zones serves as a key solution to bridge the gap between unions and their members.
HCMC Federation of Labor expands welfare initiatives
The Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor currently manages over 23,000 grassroots unions with more than 2.4 million union members and nearly 7.2 million workers, officials, and laborers, accounting for roughly one-quarter of the country's total union membership. This makes it the largest local union network in the nation. Over the years, local unions have diversified their support programs, establishing themselves as a reliable anchor for workers, with many local initiatives being scaled nationwide.
Welfare and benefit programs for union members continue to see strong innovations. Flagship initiatives such as Tet sum vay (Gathering for Tet), Chuyen xe xuan cong doan (Union Spring buses), Cho Tet cong doan (Union Tet markets), Phien cho nghia tinh (Affectionate fairs), Mai am cong doan (Union shelters), Thang cong nhan (Workers' month), and Ngay hoi cong nhan (Workers' festival) have shifted toward deeper, more targeted care tailored to actual worker needs.
Significantly, the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labor has proactively signed strategic partnership agreements with enterprises to construct approximately 110,000 social housing units for workers to rent or lease-to-own between 2026 and 2030. Additionally, the union is accelerating its the healthcare program for 1 million union members and workers across the city.
