Labour contracts, labour conditions, re-hiring workers and overtime working hours should be clearly defined in new amendments to the Labour Code, said experts at a recent conference.

The draft amendments will be proposed to the Government by the middle of this month.

Deputy Director of Government Office Kieu Dinh Thu said this was the first time the Government Office had received opinions from State management agencies, experts and workers to formulate the draft of the amended Labour Code before submitting it to the Government and the National Assembly.

Thu said that the amended law has been made to suit the development of the labour market, labour relations, and the rights of workers to help mitigate labour disputes.

Mai Duc Chinh, Vice President of the Viet Nam Labour Confederation said that up to 90 per cent of strikes were caused by poor pay and unreasonable overtime demands. The maximum of overtime working hours should not be raised to 300 hours a year in the draft of amended law, but should be kept at 200 hours as currently.

The results of a recent survey of 1,500 enterprises in 15 provinces showed that 72 per cent of employers intended to increase worker's hours, while 89 per cent of workers wanted to maintain the same schedule.

Chinh said that improving working skills should be also regulated as a task for enterprises.

Dang Duc San, head of the ministry's Legal Department said that the employers were forbidden from asking workers to make deposits before agreeing employment contracts in the draft of the amended law, but there should have details on how violators would be punished and who would monitor the issue.

San said that laying off and re-hiring workers was necessary and helped save money for enterprises. This often takes place in industrial areas in provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and HCM City and in the maritime and oil sectors so specific regulations on the relationship between the employers and employees was needed to prevent exploitation of workers.

Deputy Minister Pham Minh Huan said that regulations on collective labour agreements were mentioned in the current law, but had not been implemented; therefore the rules of dialogue and negotiations between employers and employees and the specific roles of trade unions were needed in the new draft.

Hoang Van Dung, deputy director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that businessmen play a role in the economy so if workers have trade unions to protect their rights, then businessmen also needed an organisation to protect them.

Dung said that the regulations on the establishment of such organisation should be mentioned in the law.