Income depends on overtime pay
Maple Company Limited (VSIP Industrial Park) currently creates jobs for more than 3,000 workers. Every year, the company conducts a survey of employee satisfaction with the company's payment level with the guarantee of monthly spending of employees. Through 4 surveys, the majority of employees believe that their current income is not enough to cover their living expenses.
Average income is 12 million VND/person/month. According to the survey, with this income, families of workers with 2 husbands and 2 children, with an average income of 12 million VND/month, are only temporarily enough to cover monthly expenses if the whole family is not sick.
Therefore, employees choose to work overtime to increase their income. There are months when Maple employees have to work 70-80 hours overtime, and their income can be up to 20-25 million VND/month. However, the consequences of overtime are the risk of occupational diseases, accidents after work, employees incur costs to hire someone to look after their children, pick up and drop off their children, take care of their elderly parents, etc.
"Workers look forward to the salary increase policy of the state as well as the company, at least once a year at about 7%, although not much, it is a way to encourage the spirit of employees" - Ms. Bui Hong Lien - Chairman of the Trade Union of Maple Company Limited - said.
At Yazaki Hai Phong Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Japan Industrial Park - Hai Phong), according to Mr. Dao Xuan Thu - Vice Chairman of the company's Trade Union, the enterprise is currently paying a minimum wage higher than 7%, which is 5,980,000 VND/person/month, the average income of employees is 11 million VND/month. If paid according to the regional minimum wage, it will be very difficult for businesses to recruit workers. In reality, the salary must be from 6 million VND or more to be able to recruit workers. Only with a guaranteed income of 8-10 million VND/month can businesses retain employees.
"Young workers who have just started working can accept a salary of 6 million VND/month, but for workers with families, this is not enough to live on. The annual salary increase must be 10% to improve the quality of life of employees, and if it increases by about 5-6%, it will only compensate for inflation" - Mr. Thu said.
Many workers have to work overtime
According to the 2025 policy report of grassroots trade unions, Hai Phong Economic Zone has 92.4% of enterprises applying a minimum wage higher than the regional minimum wage (14.7%) with an average of VND 5,698,000. The average income of direct workers is VND 8,441,300/person/month, of which the minimum wage accounts for 61.7%.
This shows that the minimum wage is an important part of employees income, however, allowances, overtime, and bonuses also play a significant role in increasing employees income, said Mr. Nguyen Hong Quang - Vice Chairman of the KKT Trade Union.
The income of workers in industrial parks and export markets in Hai Phong has tended to increase in recent years, however, the increase is still slow compared to the increase rate of prices and living expenses. The current income of employees is only temporarily enough to cover their living expenses and accumulate for the future, which is insignificant (working overtime, saving 19.8 million VND/year; not working overtime, saving 500,000 VND/year). Therefore, to ensure a standard of living and accumulation, many workers have to work overtime, which can affect their health and family life.
At the conference to collect opinions from employees on applying the regional minimum wage, the Hai Phong City Labor Federation synthesized opinions and agreed to propose a salary increase of 6-7%. Along with the proposal to increase regional minimum wages, according to Mr. Nguyen Hong Quang, Chairman of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Trade Union, the Zone Trade Union directs grassroots trade unions to proactively gather and collect opinions on the needs and interests of union members. From there, develop a plan and conduct negotiation steps, sign collective labor agreements with more favorable terms than legal regulations, with the goal of increasing income and improving employee benefits.
Along with that, trade unions at all levels and business representatives in Hai Phong also recommended and proposed that the State take measures to control the consumer price index, have welfare support policies such as education, healthcare, etc. to reduce consumption costs for employees; support businesses in developing production and business to ensure better jobs and income for employees.
