Law on amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the Labour Code No. 35/2002/QH10

Issuing body and legal basis

This is Law No. 35/2002/QH10 on amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the Labour Code, adopted by the National Assembly (Legislature X). The excerpt cites as its authority the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1992 as amended by Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10, and the Labour Code adopted 23 June 1994 by the National Assembly (Legislature IX). The document number, adoption date and promulgation details are not fully legible in the excerpt provided.

Scope and application

This Law amends the Preamble and a large number of articles of the 1994 Labour Code. It applies to Vietnamese employees and employers, foreign workers working in Vietnam, Vietnamese workers working abroad, enterprises of all types including agricultural enterprises, and state management and inspection bodies in the labour field. The excerpt is abridged and many amended articles are truncated, so only the subject matter of the amendments can be summarised, not their full operative text.

Principal amendments

The excerpt lists amendments to at least the following groups of provisions:

- Employment and the labour contract (Articles 18, 27, 29, 31, 33, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42): including rules on job introduction organizations, conclusion, performance, suspension, merger and transfer of enterprises, unilateral termination and compensation for damage.

- Collective bargaining and collective agreements (Articles 45, 47, 48, 52, 57): representation in bargaining, conclusion, invalidity and application of collective agreements after merger or consolidation.

- Wages, working time and rest (Articles 61, 64, 66, 69): wage payment, wage scales based on production results, and overtime pay (with a reference to an additional 30% of wage).

- Labour discipline and material liability (Articles 84, 85, 88): forms of disciplinary action and procedures.

- Occupational safety and hygiene (Articles 96, 107, 111, 121): production, use and preservation requirements and employer obligations.

- Specific labour regimes (Articles 129, 132, 133, 134): added provisions and new Articles 134a, 135, 135a, 135b, 135c concerning foreign workers in Vietnam and the sending of Vietnamese workers to work abroad, rights and obligations of such workers and enterprises, training, and prohibited acts in recruitment.

- Social insurance (Articles 140, 141, 144, 145, 148, 149, 151): types of social insurance, social insurance fund, allowances during leave under Articles 114 and 117, new clause 1a of Article 145 on female workers aged 55 with 25 years of contributions, and disputes over social insurance.

- Labour dispute settlement and statute of limitations (Articles 153, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167): labour conciliation councils, labour conciliators for individual disputes, jurisdiction of the People's Court for collective and individual disputes and compensation for damage under Article 29(3) and Article 48(4), and differentiated limitation periods of six months, three years and other periods.

- State management and inspection (Articles 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 191): unified state management by The Government, 30-day time limits, issuance of work permits, and powers of the state labour inspectorate and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Terminological and editorial corrections are also made, including changing "du 12 thang tro len", replacing "phi day nghe" with "chi phi day nghe", and renaming Section V of Chapter XI.

Effect and transition

The excerpt does not state the effective (enforcement) date of this Law, nor its transitional provisions. As an amending law, it amends and supplements the Labour Code of 23 June 1994. No repealing or replaced instrument is named beyond the amended articles themselves. The full text should be consulted for the effective date, detailed transitional arrangements and complete wording of each amended article.