Our Library

Analyses, Perspectives and Opinions

RLS Southeast Asia regularly publishes political analyses and working papers on current and relevant topics from the Mekong Region. Together with our partners, we shed light on different opinions and introduce perspectives on pressing social and ecological questions and challenges. The publications are categorized according to topics and countries and can be selected using the links below.

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 Labour

Labour amidst Globalization A Textual Comparison of Vietnamese and German Trade Union Laws

On the 1st of August 2020, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) entered into force since its ratification by the European Commission. The act signifies another step of Vietnam not only into the global market economy, but also into the international labour regime and standards since its historic 1986 ‘Renovation’ reforms that opened the country. With upcoming initiatives for economic rebound in a post-pandemic Europe and Vietnam, an examination of existing trade union landscape in Vietnam and effects of the new Labour Code, entered into force since 1st of January 2021, is in order.

 

From East Germany to West Germany and Vietnam to world trade—both represent assimilations of socialist states to global capitalism with widespread consequences at around the same time. The relevance goes deeper than a surface parallel with Vietnam’s unification in 1975: Germany and Vietnam hold more intimate ties in contemporary history, with both cooperating on many different fronts, from economy, international relations, to policy and legal training. Within such historical and political contexts, a comparison of Vietnamese and German trade union laws is well-merited to chart a tentative path forward for Vietnamese labour relations, given the continued cooperation between the two countries.

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 Labour, Social Justice

Monograph on Vietnamese Domestic Workers

Domestic work has long existed not only in Vietnam but also in almost all countries in the world. Domestic workers, most of them are women, play an important role not only for the families employing them but also for the national economy and the labour market.

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 Labour, Social Justice, Vietnam

Challenges to social rights of workers in Vietnam - Case study of garment sector

The study “Challenges to social rights of workers in Vietnam - Case study of garment sector” conducted by Institute for Workers and Trade Unions (IWTU), Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), 2017 in cooperation with Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Southeast Asia (RLS SEA).

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 Labour, Vietnam

Vietnamese Migrant Domestic workers – With special focus on Taiwan and Saudi Arabia markets

Vietnam considers sending nationals working overseas a socio-economic strategy to develop human resources, solving unemployment, generating income, increasing foreign exchange reserves, and strengthening cooperative relations with other countries.

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 Cambodia, Labour, Myanmar

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Value Extraction from the Mekong: A Case study on the Control and Exploitation of Land and Labor in Cambodia and Myanmar SEZs

The study shows that SEZs in Greater Mekong Sub-region have played an important role in regional integration and economic development, however, they have been developed with limited transparency and locals are not involved in the planning process.

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 Labour, Social Justice, Vietnam

Migrant workers’ labour rights

In this report the author Jekaterina Rudolph gives a short overview about the latest research activities on the implementation of migrants’ labour rights done by the Hue University of Science in September 2013.

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 Labour, Vietnam

Domestic work in Vietnam – A legislative perspective

In her findings, the author Randi Luise Becker aims to summarize the current status of domestic workers in Vietnam at present state.

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 Labour, Vietnam

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour

In his working paper the author Volker Bellgart argues that Corporate Social Responsibility has a strong potential to help improving working conditions in Vietnam by empowering the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the state trade union.

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