Speaking to reporters, Mr. Le Dinh Quang - Deputy Head of the Department of Legal Policy and Labor Relations (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor) - said that according to Article 91 of the 2019 Labor Code, the minimum wage is adjusted based on 7 factors: Minimum living standard of employees and their families; Minimum wage and salary in the market; consumer price index, economic growth rate; labor supply and demand relationship; employment and unemployment; labor productivity; affordability of enterprises.
According to Mr. Quang, the General Confederation of Labor has compiled the employment and income situation to serve the adjustment of regional minimum wages. The wish of workers is to increase the minimum wage. However, the adjustment of the minimum wage depends on many factors, there are specialized factors.
The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor is continuing to research and has not yet proposed a specific minimum wage adjustment level. In the immediate future, we want to propose that the National Wage Council soon meet and have plans to propose adjusting the regional minimum wage" - Mr. Quang said.
Mr. Quang said that the minimum wage is different from the living wage. The minimum wage is the lowest wage paid to employees working under normal conditions, ensuring a minimum living standard for employees and their families. This is the lowest floor to protect disadvantaged workers, and it is also the basis for negotiating wages.
Meanwhile, a salary of enough to live on can be understood as a salary to ensure the life of a worker working under normal conditions (8 hours/day, 48 hours/week), ensuring a normal life, meaning a more decent life; including food to ensure life; non-food expenses to ensure education, social interaction, and even ensure savings to handle in case of risk.
"Thus, the minimum wage and the living wage are different. For example, the living wage of the 2018 minimum wage determined for the textile industry in Ho Chi Minh City is nearly 9 million VND/person/month. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in region I for that year in Ho Chi Minh City was 3,980,000 VND/month" - Mr. Quang analyzed.
Mr. Quang added that recently, the National Assembly set a GDP growth target of 8% or more in 2025, and in the following years, GDP will increase by 2 digits. To achieve this goal, labor productivity must be high, so the minimum wage must increase to comply with the policy of Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW, as well as to comply with the policy of investing in wages as investing in development - Mr. Quang said.
Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW affirms that from 2021, the State will periodically adjust the regional minimum wage based on the recommendations of the National Wage Council. Currently, the regional minimum wage is adjusted according to Decree No. 74/2024/ND-CP effective from July 1, 2024. Therefore, in 2025, there is sufficient basis to adjust the regional minimum wage.
According to Mr. Le Dinh Quang, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has prepared that when the arrangement and merger of professional departments of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is stable, the General Confederation wants to propose that the National Wage Council soon have a plan to review and propose the regional minimum wage in 2025.
