Workers' income is not enough to cover essential needs
At the discussion session on the socio-economic development plan at the National Assembly on June 18, delegate Thai Thu Xuong (Hau Giang delegation) - Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor mentioned the lives of workers, especially workers in industrial parks under pressure from price increases and decreasing income. On the one hand, electricity prices, food prices have also increased. On the other hand, there is unstable employment, declining income, and unstable life.
Since 2023, EVN has adjusted electricity prices up 4 times with an increase of 17%, while the regional minimum wage of workers has only increased once with an increase of 6%. This increase has caused many employees to not have enough to cover their daily needs, let alone save or invest in the future. They have to live in cramped boarding houses, with poor facilities and equipment, struggling to make ends meet.
From the above reality, on behalf of voters who are workers, delegate Thai Thu Xuong recommended that the Government should have solutions to control inflation to stabilize prices of essential goods, especially electricity prices and food and beverage, and at the same time, urgently consider, adjust, and increase the regional minimum wage from July 2025. This is not only a technical recommendation but an urgent requirement from the practical life of employees.
The regional minimum wage needs to truly meet the minimum living standard, in accordance with the spirit of the provisions of the Labor Code, said delegate Thai Thu Xuong (Hau Giang delegation) - Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.
Salary increase motivates businesses to raise floor salaries
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tran (29 years old) - a worker at a leather shoe company in Nam Dinh province, shared that her income depends entirely on her basic salary. After more than 7 years of working, her current salary has only reached about 4.8 million VND/month, equivalent to the starting salary of many people working in the city.
"My friends who just started working in Hanoi already have a basic salary of 4.8 million VND, and I have to work for more than 7 years to get that salary. Many new employees at the company I work for are only entitled to a meager salary of a few hundred thousand dong, about 4.2 million dong/month, said Ms. Tran.
According to her, low basic salary not only directly affects monthly income, but also has a long-term impact on benefits such as pensions and social insurance regimes later. What she hopes for is that the State will soon adjust the regional minimum wage to create motivation and pressure for businesses to increase the floor salary according to regulations.
Similar to the situation, Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet - a worker working in Thang Long Industrial Park (Dong Anh district, Hanoi) said that she is currently receiving a basic salary of 5.48 million VND/month, higher than the regional minimum wage I (4.96 million VND/month).
"Every month, the rent for accommodation, electricity, water, food, not to mention sending money back to the countryside is almost out of salary. The rest were not saved much. There are months when I have to borrow money to get by, Ms. Nguyet confided.
According to Mr. Ha Minh Vi - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Trade Union of Industrial Parks of Bac Giang province, workers in industrial parks in the province are currently looking forward to increasing their regional minimum wage. "I hope to soon increase the regional minimum wage for employees, meeting the expectations of many employees, the proposed increase is about 7%" - Mr. Vi expressed.
According to this person, the regional minimum wage is the basis for determining related regimes such as social insurance contributions, basic salary payments, maternity support, illness, etc. The delay in adjustment or too little adjustment will lead to disadvantages for employees in many aspects.
The union president added that many enterprises are currently building basic salaries for employees based on the regional minimum wage plus other percentage points. This basic salary is the salary for signing a labor contract and is also the basis for salary to pay social insurance.
When the regional minimum wage is increased, employees may receive a basic salary increase, helping to improve their lives...
The first meeting of the National Wage Council on the 2026 minimum wage plan was chaired by Mr. Nguyen Manh Khuong - Chairman of the Council, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. According to the program, at the meeting, the Technical Department of the National Wage Council presented a technical report on the direction of the minimum wage in 2026; members representing the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and members representing employers will propose a plan to adjust the minimum wage. Currently, according to Decree 74/2024/ND-CP, the minimum wage in region I is 4.96 million VND, region II is 4.41 million VND, region III is 3.86 million VND, region IV is 3.45 million VND.
