EM – The development of labor norms in the elevator industry is an essential first step to ensure service quality and safety for users. Labor norms serve as a solid foundation, establishing a common standard for the entire industry, thereby enhancing the reputation and operational effectiveness of elevator service providers.
According to Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 93 of the 2019 Labor Code, it is stipulated that: “Employers must develop wage scales, wage tables and work norms as a basis for the recruitment and employment of workers, for the negotiation of work-based or position-based wages to be specified in the employment contract, and for wage payments to workers.”
Work norms must be an average level that the majority of workers can carry out without lengthening normal working hours and must be tested before official application.”
Thus, the responsibility for setting labor norms lies with the enterprises, while the State only issues guiding principles through labor laws, employment laws, and other subordinate legal documents.
Developing Labor Norms in the Enterprise
In practice, each company already has a “labor norm” for each job task that its employees must perform. There are job descriptions, time allocations for each task, and requirements for the skill level of employees carrying out these tasks.
These labor norms might still be established based on principles we jokingly call “AC” (approximate), or they may be derived from practical work experience and the quality demands of each enterprise, depending on their scale and capabilities. Some businesses have even developed their own specific internal standards and norms.
Here’s a funny, almost unbelievable story about setting labor norms. One company developed labor norms concerning its workers. After referring to all the guiding documents, they set a “norm” to be trialed. Over time, the “norm” was gradually tightened, and the workers’ reactions were measured. Eventually, it reached a point where the workers seemed unable to handle the pressure and protested collectively.
Perhaps, they had reached their limit.
The company immediately listened and implemented the final official norm. Of course, the final “norm” was slightly eased to satisfy the workers.
This example shows that labor norms reflect the employers’ intentions in managing and running their businesses, based on culture, work environment, and the capabilities of their workers, while also complying with legal regulations.
Challenges in the Elevator Service Industry
Focusing specifically on the elevator industry, we currently operate hundreds of thousands of elevators, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of tasks performed monthly to ensure their proper functioning.
The cost for these services varies significantly, ranging from a few hundred thousand VND for each maintenance visit to several million VND. Customers don’t know exactly what the technicians are doing with their equipment—are they just “cleaning and lubricating,” or is there more to it? Why is there such a big difference in price?
Perhaps, it’s only when something goes wrong that the true nature of the issue is revealed.
It’s hard to understand the maze of maintenance prices, but it’s also easy to see why this is happening, as costs depend on the “standards” set by each company—whether high or low, every price has its “value.” It’s surprising that when speaking with me, most elevator companies complain that they have to “subsidize” the service sector, meaning they use profits from selling new elevators (and possibly other profits) to partially subsidize service costs.
No company is making a profit from elevator maintenance, or in other words, service fees only cover the cost of maintaining the service department—no profit is being made. This is an unreasonable situation that directly affects the transparent development of the entire elevator industry, and it may even impact the quality and safety of elevators.
Moreover, the lack of a common standard for labor in the elevator industry, especially one with legal grounding, also causes confusion for public agencies when planning budgets for elevator maintenance and repair.
At the same time, technicians are faced with the issue of “flat” pay—there is a lack of fairness and adequate compensation because management companies do not have, or inaccurately determine, labor norms for the elevator workforce.
Developing Labor Norms in the Elevator Industry
In 2023, the Vietnam Elevator Association (VNEA) published the first Elevator Industry Base Standard, TCCS 01:2023/VNEA, which includes general safety requirements for the management, use, maintenance, and repair of elevators. This standard was immediately adopted and referenced by stakeholders, including elevator safety managers, owners and managers of elevator systems, service providers, and individuals directly involved in and affected by elevator safety, such as elevator technicians and users.
However, this remains a GENERAL REQUIREMENT, which is the most basic, principle-based guideline. To ensure elevators operate safely, conveniently, and economically for users and those directly involved in managing elevator safety, additional “sub-legal documents” are needed to provide practical implementation guidance.
Specific standards, related to particular parties in the overall elevator safety management system, have been outlined in TCCS 01:2023/VNEA.
“Without a heart, it’s just a machine.”
Therefore, the first part of the “sub-legal document” should likely focus on the workers in the industry (such as building elevator operators, maintenance staff at service units, etc.)—the most important and direct group who connect service providers with customers.
As mentioned earlier, the elevator industry in our country is in a developing stage, navigating and making adjustments along the way. This is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity. We can benefit from global scientific and technological advancements, even in the area of labor norms and standards.
Facing the urgent need to establish labor norms for the elevator industry, the Vietnam Elevator Association has instructed the Vietnam Institute of Lift Engineering Application (VILEA) to research and develop the second industry standard related to labor norms.
Accordingly, labor norms must focus on specific tasks that can be quantified, such as those in the regular maintenance activities outlined in TCCS 01:2023/VNEA, routine repairs, equipment replacements during major repairs, and elevator modernization. Labor norms must ensure the following aspects:
1. Time norms
2. Task norms
3. Personnel requirements
4. Quality requirements for personnel (skill levels)
Labor norms not only serve service businesses in the sector for recruitment, employment, and wage agreements as stipulated by the Labor Code but can also act as a guide for elevator owners and operators to develop economic-technical planning estimates for operating the elevators under their management.
This will be the first step toward standardizing elevator services, thereby improving the quality of elevator services—a goal shared by businesses, elevator owners/operators, and elevator users.
Nguyễn Huy Tiến – General Secretary of the Vietnam Elevator Association
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