The Viet Nam National Assembly adopted the 2023 Cooperative Law at its 5th Session on 20 June 2023

The ILO has supported the Government of Viet Nam and social partners through the process of amending the law. This includes tripartite consultations on the promotion and inclusion of support for cooperatives in the Country Programme Review of Viet Nam's Decent Work Country Programme (2017-21), the formulation and approval of the Decent Work Country Programme (2022-26) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in 2022.

The ILO supported enhanced coordination between the Viet Nam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in the consultations for amending the law. As a result the Law has been amended in line with Viet Nam’s 2019 Labour Code and the values and principles of cooperatives as articulated in the Cooperative Identity Statement of the International Cooperative Alliance.

In providing this support to its Constituents the ILO utilized its Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193) and the 110th ILC Resolution concerning Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) of 2022. In addition, the ILO technical comments and inputs have resulted in an improved text of the Law with regard to:

• Promoting the transition from the informal to the formal economy: The new Law introduced revisions and amendments on regulations on registrations, organization and reorganization of cooperatives with a view to simplifying requirements for administrative procedures for the establishment and operations of cooperatives, including through digitalization.
• Expanding social protection coverage in and through cooperatives: The new Law provides for an improved framework and an enabling environment which, in coordination with other legal frameworks and policies, contributes to expanding social insurance coverage for workers of cooperatives.

The close partnership between the ILO and the VCA will continue in the roll-out and effective implementation of the new Cooperative Law. The ILO support to the VCA will include: raising awareness on the new Cooperative Law through promotional booklets and flyers about the key changes and contents of the Law; and building capacities of cooperatives in effectively implementing the provisions of the new Cooperative Law.

The new cooperative law of Viet Nam will go into effect on 1 July 2024.