World Trade Organization identified Vietnam in 2007 as one of the members leading to the development of the globalization and implementation of CSR in Vietnam.
The theme is well appreciated and accepted by the European Union and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, supporting the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s jointly for the improvement of the linkages with global supply chains in sustainable productions.
Human rights, working conditions, and gender inequality are the criteria for CSR development,
- Organizations related to human rights or labour unions are not allowed. Any kind of public demonstration against the government is not accepted.
- As per Human Rights Watch 2017, peaceful activism or criticism of any government are charged as a national security offence.
- Freedom of association or bargaining collective is also not allowed as the working conditions are relatively poor compared to any other nation.
- Wage difference has been noticed in the garment industry where the woman is paid less than the average wage.
- Inequality in gender pay has been a major hurdle where women are not paid with fair wages and sometimes work without any labour protections.
- In garment factories, women usually work more than 18 hours a day or even overtime in garment factories with a salary not sufficient to meet the immediate and family needs.
The situation as the major exploitation of female workers who were earning something per day somehow provides meet the needs of their family every month.
Wage discrimination also exposes the dark part of the garment industry and how such works are exploited under the wrong hand. A strong commitment from the government and strong authoritative figures from the respected international bodies can help in handling the issues in a justified way.
In my opinion, the difficulties in CSR issues cannot be solved in one day but with time solid foundation can be laid out.
Source:- Reporting Exchange, An Overview of Sustainability and Corporate Reporting in Vietnam, WBCSD, Human Rights Watch, World Report 2018.