At the first meeting of the National Wage Council, Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Ha - Member of the Standing Committee, Deputy Head of the Labor Relations Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour has proposed adjusting the regional minimum wage in 2027 according to 2 options: Increase by 9.8% and increase by 8.5%.
According to Mr. Le Dinh Quang - former Deputy Head of the Policy and Law Department of the VGCL, the regional minimum wage plays a role as a floor level to ensure the minimum living standard for workers. Therefore, when the minimum wage is increased, the general income of workers will be increased. Wages are also a motivation for workers to contribute.
Wage increases not only help improve the lives of workers but also create motivation to promote labor productivity, contributing to economic growth.
However, it is important to improve the capacity of grassroots trade unions to support workers in negotiating wages higher than the regional minimum wage, through collective labor agreements.
According to Mr. Le Dinh Quang, currently, with highly qualified workers with good legal knowledge and skills, they can negotiate directly with employers to have appropriate salaries.
This is a trend of the labor market and needs to be expanded to vulnerable workers. At that time, the regional minimum wage will become the lowest basis for workers to negotiate wages.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (now the Ministry of Home Affairs), former Chairman of the National Wage Council Pham Minh Huan said that he wants the regional minimum wage to increase significantly, but it is also necessary to consider based on the capacity of enterprises, considering the profit margin of enterprises, plus many factors such as electricity prices, fuel prices, freight rates...
The Council always wants employees to receive a lot of salary increases but considers based on the ability of the business. Representatives of employers and representatives of employees consider and choose a plan that harmonizes the common requirements of the parties" - Mr. Pham Minh Huan said.
Mr. Huan added that, based on the gradually increasing trend, he wants the minimum wage to increase to compensate for price slippage, ensuring real wages. If the business's capacity is good, it is possible to consider a higher level. In 2026, the regional minimum wage will increase from 7.1-7.3%, Mr. Huan hopes that this increase will be at least equivalent, higher is better.
According to Decision No. 992/QD-TTg of the Government, the National Wage Council has 17 members including: Chairman of the Council is Mr. Nguyen Manh Khuong - Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.
The Vice Chairmen of the Council include: Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Standing Vice Chairman of the VGCL; Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); Mr. Dinh Hong Thai - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.
The remaining members of the Council include: 4 members representing the Ministry of Home Affairs; 4 members representing the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; 3 members representing organizations representing employers at the central level (including 1 member representing the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2 members representing two industry associations at the central level that use a lot of labor);
2 independent members are experts and scientists in the fields of labor, wages, and socio-economics.
Annually, the council organizes negotiations to recommend to the Government a plan to adjust the regional minimum wage (including the monthly minimum wage and the hourly minimum wage).
Exchanging at the press conference to inform about the results of the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, Standing Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu said that the adjustment of the minimum wage needs to be considered carefully and comprehensively, based on the socio-economic picture, and at the same time considering the endurance of businesses in the context of the world economy still facing many fluctuations.
From there, the Trade Union organization continues to research and propose appropriate plans to contribute to building harmonious, stable, and progressive labor relations, while ensuring the role of representing and protecting the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of workers.
The regional minimum wage has been adjusted many times in recent years. Most recently, from January 1, 2026, the regional minimum wage for region I is 5.31 million VND/month; Region II is 4.73 million VND/month; Region III is 4.14 million VND/month; Region IV is 3.7 million VND/month. The hourly minimum wage in region I is 25,500 VND/hour, region II is 22,700 VND/hour, region III is 20,000 VND/hour, region IV is 17,800 VND/hour.
