The successful 12^th Congress of Vietnam Trade Union gave a fresh impetus to Vietnam’s working class and Trade Union, contributing greatly to national cause of industrialization and modernization. The onus is on “the workmen- Uncle’s soldiers” to firmly perceive and successfully implement the Resolution of the 12^th Congress of Vietnamese Trade Union (hereinafter the Resolution), which have been executed through practical polices and solutions by Military Trade Unions.

Over the past years, under the leadership of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Ministry of National Defence (MND), General Department of Politics as well as the guidance of Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Military’s working movement and trade unions have seen their comprehensive and sustainable development and successfully accomplished their assigned tasks, contributing greatly to the cause of building the Military, consolidating national defence, and protecting the Homeland. Offices and units’ party committees and commandants have always concentrated their leadership and directions on executing the action Program by the CMC on carrying out Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW, dated 28-01-2008 by the 10^th Party Central Committee on “Continuing to build the Vietnamese working class in the period of accelerating national industrialization and modernization”; Directive No. 181-CT/QUTW, dated 12-3-2014 by the Standing Board of the CMC on the Military’s enforcement of the Trade Union Law. The work of communications and education has been done through a variety of appropriate and effective solutions, as evidenced by original contents and methods of trade union activities by means of combining the movement of “good and creative labourers” with the “Determined to Win” emulation movement and other movements and campaigns, thereby contributing to building cadres, trade unionists, and labourers’ political willpower and moral and lifestyle virtues and attaining positive results.

Trade unions at grassroots level have well performed their function of managing and promoting grassroots democracy; established harmonious, stable, and progressive labour relations; properly built a contingent of cadres and trade unionists and strong trade unions, and taken active part in building pure and strong party organizations and comprehensively strong units whilst well conducting social activities and caring for and protecting trade unionists and labourers’ legitimate rights and interests as well as improving their material and spiritual life, thereby enabling a contingent of cadres, trade unionists, and labourers to enhance their sociopolitical awareness, intellectual level, professionalism, and legal and defence-security knowledge, and sharpen their workmanship. The vast majority of trade unionists and labourers bring into full play the nature of Vietnamese working class and uphold their noble image of “the workmen- Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, willingly undertaking and successfully accomplishing assigned tasks.

At present, the requirements of building and defending the Homeland in the new situation and impacts of the 4^th industrial revolution necessitate our country building the strong working class, deserving to be their status as a leader of national revolution, which acts as a prerequisite for the successful cause of national industrialization and modernization and a matter of great importance and urgency to the whole political system”. Therefore, the 12^th Congress of Vietnam Trade Union set forth directions, targets, tasks, and solutions for renovating the organization and operation of Vietnamese Trade Union and promoting the role of workers, civil servants and labourers in realizing the goal of prosperous people and strong, democratic, equitable, and civilized nation. A contingent of military cadres, trade union members, civil servants and workers are part of Vietnamese Trade Union’s organizational system and a significant component of the Military’s working class. Accordingly, it is important to firmly perceive and successfully implement the Resolution, thereby contributing not only to building the revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modern Military, but also to building the stronger Vietnamese working class. Therefore, military trade unions need to take synchronous measures to implement the Resolution with an emphasis on following points.

First, actively enhancing the work of propagation and education to heighten cadres, trade union members and labourers’ awareness and responsibility for executing the Resolution. Trade unions within military units at grassroots level need to thoroughly educate and brief cadres, trade unionists, and labourers on the Resolution; directions, objectives, tasks, and action Programs by the Military Trade Union in the 2018 – 2023 period as a basis for creating consistency in trade unions and unionists’ ideology and action, and formulating plans and assigning every collective and individual a specific responsibility in the implementation process. In addition, it is necessary to enhance the work of propagation and education to promote cadres and trade unionists’ political awareness and enlightenment about Marxism- Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thoughts, the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, the Military’s missions, and trade unions’ functions and tasks whilst proactively fighting false viewpoints and awareness; effectively precluding impacts of social vices on the contingent of workers and stratagems and sabotage activities by hostile forces by means of artifices of military “depoliticization” and manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, and attaching great value to the work of education on the traditions of the nation, the Party, the working class, and the Military, and fostering legal awareness and knowledge, thereby promoting a sense of national pride and patriotic spirits and self-reliance amongst trade unionists and labourers.

Second, stimulating emulation movements to create momentum for successful accomplishment of every mission among cadres, trade unionists, and labourers. Accordingly, trade unions at grassroots level attach greater weight to renovating content, forms, and methods of emulation movements in line with units and enterprises’ peculiarities and mission requirements, thereby pulling in a vast array of cadres, trade unionists, and labourers. Some typical movements include “superb and creative labourers”; green, clean, beautiful and labour safety and hygiene”, etc. Those movements should be closely associated with the implementation of Directive No. 05-CT/TW by the Politburo on “Accelerating the study and following of Uncle Ho’s thought, morality, and lifestyle”, Determined to win emulation movements, and the Campaign “Promoting traditions, devoting talents, and deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers”. Simultaneously, it is crucial to take active part in the movement “the Military makes a concerted effort to build new-type rural areas” and environmental protection; regularly and satisfactorily conducting the work of preliminary and overall assessment and spreading the best practices, thereby facilitating working movements and trade union activities in a regular, substantive, and widespread fashion; encouraging trade unionists to promote patriotic traditions and their sense of responsibility and boost labour productivity; and contributing to successfully accomplishing assigned tasks.

Third, ceaselessly caring for and protecting legitimate rights and interests of trade unionists and labourers. First and foremost, all-level trade unions need to uphold their sense of responsibility for protecting labourers’ political rights and interests by means of implementing the regulations on grassroots democracy in order to uphold their rights to mastery in production and building offices, units, and enterprises whilst bolstering constructive dialogues between trade unions and labourers and employers so as to negotiate, sign, and execute collective labour agreements as a basis for protecting trade unionists and labourers’ rights and interests. Besides, great importance is attached to building harmonious, stable, and progressive enterprise relationships under Directive No. 22-CT/TW, dated 05-6-2008 by the Secretariat (10^th tenure) while fostering legal counselling and assistance; enhancing the work of inspection and supervision over enforcing policies pertaining to trade unionists and labourers’ rights and obligations, especially those on social and healthcare insurance and labour protection and handling complaints and denunciations in accord with the laws. In the process, it is necessary to stimulate social and cultural activities, and make effective use of funds and programs, such as Military Trade Union capital assistance funds for household economy development; the Program “trade union houses – comradely sentiment”, etc, thereby improving cadres, trade unionists, and labourers’ material and spiritual life.

Fourth, continuing to renew the content and methods of trade union activities, actively building a strong pool of cadres and trade unionists and taking active part in building pure and strong party organizations and comprehensively strong units. In the immediate term, it is vital to concentrate on improving the operation of trade unions at grassroots level in accord with higher echelons’ resolutions and instructions, particularly on giving sound directive and leadership counselling to party committees, commissars, and political agencies on effectively executing working movements and trade union activities whilst formulating, amending, supplementing and implementing operational principles of trade unions within the Vietnam People’s Army in tune with offices, units, and enterprises’ organizational structure, and giving advice and recommendations to perfecting organizational structure of trade unions in reorganized, renovated and equitized military-run enterprises. In addition, it is essential to diversify forms of activities and management of trade unionists; satisfactorily carrying out the work of preliminary and overall evaluation of every activity and the work of assessment of grassroots trade unions while encouraging military officers, non-commissioned officers, and workers to participate in trade unions in military academies and school, hospitals, stations, thereby improving the quantity and quality of the pool of trade unionists. Moreover, it is necessary to regularly and properly conduct the work of training and streamlining a quantitative and qualitative pool of trade union cadres at all levels, especially heads of trade unions at grassroots level with sufficient capabilities, virtues, and devotion, meeting their mission requirements. In particular, grassroots trade unions need to regularly give comment on cadres, party members and organizations; to promote their role as party members in implementing the Party’s resolutions and directives on the work of building the Party and cultivating a contingent of cadres and party members, etc.

Upholding the tradition of being “the workmen- Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, military cadres, trade unionists, and workers thoroughly grasp and determinedly emulate to successfully implement Resolutions of all-level Trade Union Congress to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of tradition Day of Military Trade Union (6-3-1949 – 6-3-2019).

Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Duc, Member of the Executive Board of Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, Head of the Military Trade Union