In accordance with the provisions of labour law, there is a definition that “a labour dispute means a dispute over rights, obligations, and interests among the parties during the establishment, execution or termination of labour relation; a dispute between the representative organisations of employees; a dispute over a relationship that is directly relevant to the labour relation[1]”.
The types of labour disputes regulated by the law are also quite diverse, including (i) Individual labour disputes between employees and employers; between employees and enterprises or organisations sending employees to work abroad under contracts; between employees leased out and employers who lease them; and (ii) Collective labour disputes over rights or interests between one or more organisations representing employees and employers, or one or more organisations of employers. According to the current regulations, the authority for resolving labour disputes includes (i) Labour Mediators; (ii) Labour Arbitration Councils; and (iii) the People’s Court[2].
It can be observed that labour disputes are a common issue in the workplace and can impact both employers and employees. Labour disputes can arise from various reasons such as unclear company internal policies, labour regulations not being properly enacted, failure to seek the input of employees, ineffective human resource management, or misconduct by employees that seriously affects the company’s operations, among many other conflicting situations that have not been resolved in accordance with labour laws. As a result, when situations like those mentioned above occur, negotiation, seeking solutions, and labour mediation are often considered the optimal approach to resolve labour disputes.
Labour disputes do not necessarily have to go through the mediation process
Individual labour disputes shall be settled through mediation by labour mediators before being brought to the Labour Arbitration Council or the Court, except for the following labour disputes for which mediation is not mandatory[3]:
- Regarding disciplinary actions such as termination of employment or unilateral termination of labour contracts;
- Regarding compensation, benefits, or allowances upon termination of labour contracts;
- Between a domestic worker and employers;
- Regarding social insurance is regulated by social insurance laws, health insurance is regulated by health insurance laws, unemployment insurance is regulated by employment laws, and occupational accident and disease insurance is regulated by occupational safety and hygiene laws;
- Regarding compensation for damages between employees and enterprises or organisations sending employees to work abroad under contracts;
- Between employees leased out and employers who lease them.
Hence, for labour disputes falling outside the scope listed above, they must be resolved through the mediation process by labour mediators, and the resolution must be recorded in the labour mediation agreement to ensure compliance with legal provisions.
The content of the labour mediation agreement template 2023
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs issued Circular No. 22/2007/TT-BLĐTBXH on 23 October 2007, which included Form No. 7 – Labour mediation agreement template. Although this Circular is no longer in effect, there are no new regulations providing guidance as a replacement for this Labour mediation agreement template. Therefore, in the spirit of applying the content of the Labour mediation agreement template, the mediation agreement in a civil case must include the following content:
FORM NO. 7:
(Issued in conjunction with Circular No. 22/2007/TT-BLDTBXH, dated 23 October 2007, by the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs)
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Labour management authority(district, municipality, town, city within the province) ***** |
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence – Freedom – Happiness ****** |
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…, on the day of … month … year … |
MINUTES
LABOUR DISPUTE MEDIATION
1. Date, month, year, and location of the mediation session:
2. Participants:
2.1. Name of the labour mediator:
2.2. Name of the requesting party for mediation:
2.3. Information of the party requested to mediate:
3. Dispute Content:
4. Details, evidence, and relevant documents related to the labour dispute:
5. Opinion of the requesting party:
6. Opinion of the party requested to mediate:
7a. Specific agreement reached by the mediator:
The parties to the labour dispute are obliged to comply with the agreements recorded in these minutes. (Applicable in cases of successful mediation)
7b. Reasons for unsuccessful mediation in the dispute:
The mediation session concluded at … o’clock on the day of … month … year ….
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MEDIATOR (Sign, and clearly state the full name) |
| TWO PARTIES TO LABOUR DISPUTE
The employee or the authorised representative (for individual labour disputes) or a collective labour representative (for collective labour disputes) (Sign and clearly state the name and title) |
Representative of the employer (Sign and clearly state the full name, title) |
The above is a general overview of the Labour mediation minutes template 2023 shared by Phuoc and Partners. If you encounter any difficulties related to the legal field, please contact us. Phuoc and Partners is a law firm established in Vietnam with nearly 100 members working in three offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Danang. Phuoc and Partners is also considered one of the leading law firms with a team of specialized staff in the top legal practice areas in Vietnam such as Labor and Employment, Taxation, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Litigation. We are confident to be one of the best law firms providing legal services to our clients.
[1] Article 179.1 Labour Code
[2] Article 187 Labour Code
[3] Article 188 Labor Code
