By Anca Voinea
Vietnam’s National Assembly has adopted a new Cooperative Law, which comes into effect on 1 July 2024. The legislation, developed with support from the ILO, simplifies the procedures for forming and running co-operatives.
The law, which falls in line with Vietnam’s 2019 Labour Code and the co-operative values and principles as articulated in the Cooperative Identity Statement of the International Cooperative Alliance, was developed with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Development work was done via the ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme (2017-21), the formulation and approval of the Decent Work Country Programme (2022-26) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in 2022. The ILO worked with the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the country’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
The new law will make it easier to transition from the informal to the formal economy by simplifying requirements for administrative procedures for establishing and operating co-operatives, including through digitalisation.
According to the ILO, the law will, in coordination with other legal frameworks and policies, also help to expand social insurance coverage for workers of co-operatives.
The legislation, which replaces existing law on co-ops dating back to 2012, will come into effect on 1 July 2024.
“The close partnership between the ILO and the VCA will continue in the roll-out and effective implementation of the new Cooperative Law,” said the ILO.
It added that its support for the VCA will include “raising awareness of the new Cooperative Law through promotional booklets and flyers about the key changes and contents of the Law; and building capacities of co-operatives in effectively implementing the provisions of the new Cooperative Law”.