Vietnam making big gains in corporate responsibility The electronics industry has made remarkable contributions to the nation’s economic development, says Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)Vice President Hoang Quang Phong. Comprised of some 500 multinational companies employing approximately 250,000 workers, the electronics industry is the nation’s second largest exporting industry—dominated by brands like Samsung, Fujitsu, Canon, Intel, and Foxconn. Similar to the clothing industry – the number one exporter – the majority of workers are female and a relatively high proportion consist of domestic workers who have migrated from rural to the larger metropolitan areas. “Decent work deficits [DWDs] include occupational health and safety related matters as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals, precarious employment contacts, unfair wages and the lack of the right to collectively bargain and associate freely,” Phong underscored. As in the clothing industry, Phong said some international buyers have encouraged their suppliers to comply with employer-employee codes of conduct and have provided assistance in this regard. Nevertheless, issues pertaining to noncompliance with national law and international standards continue to be the norm and a fundamental challenge for companies and there is a dire need for improving labour practices. In response to this need, Phong said the VCCI has launched a project to encourage multinational companies to contribute positively to economic and social development through socially responsible labour practices. The program has a special focus on the electronics industry. The VCCI partners in the program include the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, International Labour Organization (ILO) and a raft of business associations. The US$481,822 project entitled ‘More and Better Jobs Through Socially Responsible Labour Practices in Asia’ runs August 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 and is funded by the Government of Japan. “We fundamentally believe that taking joint action to renovate the way multinational corporations interact with their employees will yield the most favourable results for improving working conditions,” said Phong. Yukiko Arai, a senior ILO expert in turn echoed Phong’s views saying the project will help encourage multinational corporations to make further contribution to socio-economic development through the exercise of social responsibility. As a first step, an exploratory study with ILO’s technical support will be undertaken to identify the DWDs and real employment situation as it currently exists in the electronics industry. Second an action plan will be developed. The action plan will help in the implementation of specific activities to promote socially responsible labour practices addressing the DWDs and help define the role of multinational corporations. Third, the generation of labour-related data and their analysis is expected to help identify ways in which more and better jobs could be generated in collaboration with multinational corporation’s cooperation. Once completed, the findings and recommendations of the study will be extrapolated to all industries and presented to the ILO’s tripartite constituents and other key stakeholders for validation and agreement on a joint plan of action. VOV