ILO-Japan programme

Japanese parliamentary members explore effective ways to support Viet Nam’s labour issues

The delegation aimed to identify decent work challenges faced by Vietnamese workers and find solutions to address them as more and more major Japanese companies are choosing Viet Nam to locate their factories.

News | 26 September 2018
The delegation's working session with ILO Country Office for Viet Nam
HANOI (ILO News) – The Japanese Parliamentarian League on the ILO Activities paid a visit to Viet Nam on 23-25 September 2018 in the context of the country’s becoming a top choice for Japan’s businesses in locating their bases.


The delegation, which was led by Member of House of Representatives and Liberal Democratic Party, Jiro Kawasaki – former Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, aimed to get an overall picture of Viet Nam’s employment situation. Other delegates included 3 members of House of Councillors – Kumiko Aihara of Constitutional Democratic Party, Michihiro Ishibashi of Constitutional Democratic Party, and Ryuji Satomi of Komei-to.

According to the delegation leader, as Viet Nam is now a top choice of Japan’s major companies in locating their factories, Japan needs to identify challenges Vietnamese workers are facing both in Japan and Viet Nam and work out potential solutions to ensure their decent work. Then they could consider how Japan could support Viet Nam to continue improving labour-related issues through the ILO.

The delegation's visit to Canon's factory
During their three-day visit, the delegation met with the ILO’s tripartite partners in Viet Nam – the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour, and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They also held working sessions with Viet Nam’s National Assembly Social Affairs Committee and ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, and toured factory sites.

At the meeting at MOLISA, Vice Minister Doan Mau Diep said he hoped Japan would continue to support Viet Nam through ILO projects, particularly in social insurance and reforms of industrial relation framework in line with Viet Nam’s labour commitments within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Japan is the donor of two current ILO projects in Viet Nam, including “Extending Social Security Coverage in ASEAN” and “Improving the Representative Role of Trade Unions and Employers in the New Industrial Relation Framework”. They also funded a three-year project, which ended earlier this year, on “More and better Jobs through Socially Responsible Labour Practices in Viet Nam” with a focus on the electronic sector.

The Japanese Parliamentarian League on the ILO Activities is an all-party parliamentary group that aims at promoting and supporting ILO’s activities.