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Osgoode Home > Osgoode Digital Commons > Journals > CLLPJ > Vol. 46 (2026) > Iss. 1

 

Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal

Abstract

While Vietnam has established a legal system for labour disputes that largely mirrors those in developed countries, empirical evidence reveals these formal mechanisms are rarely, if ever, used to resolve collective disputes. The persistent failures of the formal mechanisms have, paradoxically, created an environment where workers and trade unions have developed innovative, informal strategies to leverage the state’s legal framework. Workers in Vietnam mobilize around the very existence of labour laws to exert pressure on employers and state institutions to intervene on their behalf, even if not directly following each labour laws’ procedure. This strategic deployment of state regulation, often through unofficial strikes and protests, forces the formal system to respond outside of its prescribed channels.

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