Implementing Core Labour Standards in Practice: An Assessment of Vietnam's Institutional Readiness and Enforcement Challenges Under New Generation Ftas (Cptpp and Evfta)

AbstractThis article assesses the critical challenge of moving from legislative reform to effective enforcement of Core Labour Standards (CLSs) in Vietnam, driven by the Labour Chapters of New Generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), particularly the CPTPP and EVFTA. The study acknowledges Vietnam’s significant legal progress, marked by the 2019 Labour Code’s provisions for expanding workers’ rights to form representative organizations (Pham Trong Nghia, n.d.). However, drawing upon the gap between the "law in books" and the "law in action" (Jan, 2008), this research investigates the practical constraints impeding full compliance with CLSs. Using Doctrinal Legal Analysis and evidence of institutional weaknesses (MOLISA, 2017), the analysis focuses on three key areas: (1) the administrative and practical barriers to the formation and operation of new workers’ representative organizations; (2) the capacity and efficiency of the existing state enforcement apparatus, notably the labour inspectorate and dispute resolution mechanisms; and (3) the inherent limitations within the tripartite mechanism (Pham Ngoc Thanh, n.d.) to ensure genuine participation and effective monitoring. The findings indicate that while the legal framework is largely in place, the lack of robust institutional capacity and procedural clarity creates a substantial risk of non-compliance, threatening the intended benefits of the FTAs. The article concludes by proposing targeted policy interventions focused on enhancing the capacity of labour institutions, simplifying administrative procedures, and strengthening the independence of monitoring bodies.