Ca Mau company's suspension of leader lacked proper legal procedure, authorities find

The Department of Home Affairs in Vietnam's Ca Mau province has determined that the suspension of a key executive at the Ca Mau Urban Environment Joint Stock Company was carried out improperly. The company had suspended Nguyen Van Cuong, who serves as the Party Secretary and Deputy General Director, for 15 days to investigate matters related to the company's operations.

However, the Department's review revealed that the company issued the suspension order on June 11, but the Trade Union's Executive Committee only convened to discuss and approve the suspension on June 22. This sequence of events violates current labor laws, which mandate that such suspensions must be considered after consulting with the local representative labor organization.

According to Article 128 of the 2019 Labor Code, suspending an employee requires prior consultation with the grassroots labor representative organization of which the employee is a member. The Department of Home Affairs found that the company's decision to suspend Mr. Cuong was made before this consultation, rendering the procedure unlawful.

Earlier reports indicated that the company's Board of Directors had consulted with the Trade Union on June 11, with five out of six members present agreeing to the suspension. Mr. Cuong had also previously reported an alleged intrusion into his office on June 10, citing signs of disturbance and a malfunctioning computer. He suspected the hard drive might have been tampered with and reported the incident to the police.