Mr. Le Van Hoa - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation stated the above fact when presenting a speech at the 8th Conference of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (term XIII).
Mr. Le Van Hoa said that the minimum wage is the legal "ground" to protect disadvantaged workers, and is also a very sensitive input cost for businesses.
Therefore, all adjustments to salary levels and salary division must be based on evidence, ensuring the harmony of interests between employees, employers and sustainable development of the locality.
Trade unions must, from the grassroots level, promptly make recommendations to participate right from the stage of drafting and assessing the impact of legal documents, especially regulations on minimum wages.
According to Mr. Le Van Hoa, in the context of the arrangement of two-level local governments, the speed of urban development and extensive international integration, the minimum wage policy must be flexibly adjusted, taking into account the cost of living expenses, growth rate, travel conditions, and general labor market between border areas, avoiding creating too large gaps leading to labor shift, unfair competition and many labor disputes.
Mr. Le Van Hoa said that after the arrangement of provinces and cities and the implementation of two-level local government, Ho Chi Minh City (new) has 168 commune-level administrative units. The division of the minimum wage from the old districts to the new commune level leads to a number of communes, wards, and special zones in the same labor space but belonging to two different salary zones, two regions and levels apart.
The Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation calculated that according to Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP stipulating the minimum wage for employees working under labor contracts, effective from January 1, 2026, the difference between regions I and III is up to VND 1,170,000, equivalent to more than 28%, while these localities are only one bridge, one road apart, employees working in the same job, the same labor intensity.
From the reality of 2013 - 2017, in the border area between Phu My town and Chau Duc district (old), there was only a 1 difference in salary level, which has caused many disputes and complicated collective work stoppages; only when the Government adjusted the zoning period, will labor relations be stable. This lake is only adjacent to the commune level but is different to two areas.
Mr. Le Van Hoa said that this lesson poses a very urgent need to review salary division after the arrangement of administrative units.
According to Mr. Le Van Hoa, promoting the results of previous research, based on the practical experience of the City Trade Union organization, the City Labor Federation issued Official Letter No. 3494/LDLD dated September 30, 2025 proposing to adjust the minimum wage division from region III to region II for: Kim Long commune, Chau Duc commune, Ngai Giao commune, Nghia Thanh commune, Long Hai commune, Long Dien commune and Con Dao special zone.
This proposal comes from a very clear management principle: "Units bordering region I have no more than one difference in the region", aiming to narrow the gap in income, living standards and living conditions between regions, while limiting the risk of labor disputes due to the minimum wage difference.
