The National Assembly in Vietnam will debate and most likely ratify the UN International Labor Organization's Convention 87, which mandates the free establishment of labor organizations, in October, according to sources who spoke with DW.

Although Hanoi had vowed to ratify the convention by the end of 2023, European officials are confident it will do so by the end of this year in order to avoid potential sanctions from Western partners who are growing frustrated by Vietnam's foot-dragging over labor reform.

There has been concerted pressure from the European Union and Canada on Vietnam's ruling Communist Party to realize the promises it made toward labor reform when signing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member trade pact, and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, a deal that entered into force in 2020.

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, who visited Hanoi in January for cross-parliamentary talks, said the documents needed to ratify the UN convention will be sent to Vietnam's National Assembly by October. Lange said he has been given assurances by his Vietnamese counterparts that they will honor their commitment to reform.

"This step is indicative of Vietnam's commitment to enhancing labor rights, a move I believe is not only beneficial for the Vietnamese workforce but also pivotal in strengthening our bilateral trade relations," Lange told DW.

But not everyone is so sanguine. Some sources reckon Vietnam will continue to delay post-ratification when it comes to implementing the convention's requirements, while others have said some Western politicians may be, perhaps intentionally, misunderstanding exactly what Hanoi has promised.

"Ratification is only the beginning of implementation," said Judith Kirton-Darling​​​​, general secretary of industriAll, a European trade union, and a former member of European Parliament who served as a shadow rapporteur for the EU-Vietnam free trade deal.

Hanoi ratified UN Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective........

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