Base salary expected to increase, preschool teachers are both excited and worried about prices

Joy, mixed worries

After the children were picked up by their parents, the kindergarten classroom gradually became quieter. In the small room, Ms. Tran Nguyen Thu Hang - a teacher at Thoi Hung 1 Kindergarten (Can Tho City) - still lingered to collect toys, arrange tables and chairs, and check the supplies for the next day's class.

There are days when parents are busy or come to pick them up late, she and her colleagues stay to take care of the children more. Many times when she returns home, her child is already fast asleep.

She still remembers the early days after graduating, her salary was only about 600,000 VND per month. Up to now, after more than 20 years of teaching, she is receiving a salary coefficient of 4.27, with a total income of about 16 million VND/month.

Salaries increase step by step, usually only increase once every two years. Previously, the increase was not much, it was not until recent adjustments that income improved more clearly" - the female teacher shared.

According to Ms. Hang, the current income helps the family's life to be more stable than before, but living expenses are increasing, so spending still has to be calculated.

The main expenses are still family meals, electricity, water, gas... Now everything is increasing in price, so I also have to consider it. If there are arising issues such as illness or large expenses, I still have to use my savings" - she said.

In the draft Decree stipulating the base salary and bonus regime for cadres, civil servants, public employees, and armed forces, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposes to increase the base salary to 2.53 million VND/month, expected to be applied from July 1, 2026.

This information quickly attracted the attention of many officials, civil servants, and public employees in the public sector, including preschool teachers like Ms. Hang.

Besides the joy of having a salary increase proposal, Ms. Hang also expressed some concern about the possibility of commodity prices increasing accordingly.

I feel very happy but also very worried. If salaries increase and prices also increase, the additional increase will not be much. However, increasing is still better, at least it creates more motivation for teachers" - Ms. Hang shared.

Salary is not just an income

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, former Director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, now the Ministry of Home Affairs), said that the adjustment of the base salary needs to be considered in close relationship with the salary reform roadmap (CCTL) and must be based on economic bases and clear calculation methods.

According to her, in the past, the adjustment of the base salary often only stopped at increasing a part to solve the immediate problem, not based on a system of theory and full calculation methods. If only adjusting in the style of "where there is a shortage, there is compensation" then salary increases are difficult to fundamentally solve the income problem of the public sector.

She emphasized that the determination of the base salary level should be based on important economic factors such as economic growth rate and consumer price index (CPI). These two factors reflect the ability to generate wealth for the economy and price fluctuations. If wages are not adjusted accordingly, the real value of wages will be reduced.

According to experts, CCTL needs to be linked to the process of streamlining staff and improving the quality of public sector human resources. When the apparatus is streamlined, it will create resources to improve salaries for the remaining team. In the context of increased labor productivity and economic growth, it is necessary to transfer part of that achievement into salaries, especially for the public sector.

Ms. Huong also emphasized: "Salary is not only a source of income but also performs the functions of compensation, stimulus and distribution. Therefore, CCTL needs to be implemented synchronously with organizational reform and improve the operational efficiency of the public sector".