After more than 10 years of working, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang (the person proposed to change his name) - a civil servant working in My Duc district (Hanoi), has achieved a salary coefficient of 3.33.
Thanks to the special mechanism under the Capital Law 2024, effective from January 1, 2025, and the Resolution of the Hanoi People's Council, Mr. Thang's income increased by more than 3 million VND per month, bringing his total income to about 12 million VND.
Despite the improvement, according to Mr. Thang, this increase is still not enough to cover increasingly expensive living expenses.
"Every month, I give my entire salary to my wife for management, and the additional income of more than 3 million VND is kept for personal expenses. However, prices are getting higher and higher, and the couple's contribution is only enough to maintain a stable standard of living, making it difficult to save" - Mr. Thang shared.
The male civil servant calculated that even if he tried to tighten spending, the remaining amount after covering the necessities was not enough to buy a gold bar - a familiar measure of the accumulation ability of many workers.
Ms. Tran Thi Phuong (the person proposed to change her name) - a civil servant who has worked at the district level in Hanoi for more than 10 years, has a starting salary when she first started working, which is only about 3 million VND in allowances.
Currently, Ms. Phuong's main salary is 9.24 million VND, plus her additional income from January 1 is 3.86 million VND. Although income has increased, compared to the rate of price spikes and living expenses, this level is still quite modest.
According to Ms. Phuong, civil servant salaries increase in order, increasing by one level every three years with the coefficient prescribed by the State. In 2016, Ms. Phuong went to work and received a salary coefficient of 2.34; in 2018, a coefficient of 2.67; in 2021, a coefficient of 3.00 and in 2024, a coefficient of 3.33.
Although the salary coefficient has increased over time, the growth rate has not kept up with actual living expenses.
"My family has two young children who are attending extra classes, spending about 2 million VND per month. The family's food expenses range from 2 to 3 million VND if they cook by themselves, if they eat outside regularly, it can be up to 4 - 6 million VND" - the female civil servant said.
That is not to mention the electricity and water bills of about 800,000 VND to 1 million VND per month. The expenses for clothes and entertainment are about 1 - 2 million VND.
In particular, expenses for family necessities such as rice, cooking oil, fish sauce, salt and milk for children also cost about 2 million VND. Not to mention special occasions such as holidays, Tet, weddings, weddings, and funerals, the cost can increase to several million VND per month.
"The salary increase for cadres and civil servants in Hanoi is a fairly practical preferential policy. However, it is still not really guaranteed as the workload is increasing. I hope the State will continue to review policies to increase income or reform wages soon to both ensure material life and create more effective motivation for work" - Ms. Phuong expressed.
Previously, the Hanoi People's Council issued Resolution No. 46/2024 "Regulations on additional income for cadres, civil servants, and public employees working in state agencies, political organizations, the Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations, and public service units whose regular expenditures are fully guaranteed by the State budget under the management of Hanoi City".
Accordingly, Hanoi decided to use the remaining salary reform source to pay additional income to cadres, civil servants and public employees. The deduction to create a source of funding for additional income expenditure is 0.8 times the basic salary fund.
Depending on the salary coefficient, each cadre, civil servant, and public employee working at agencies and units under the management of Hanoi City will receive additional support from 2.5 million VND to nearly 6 million VND per month.
