That concern is understandable, because these increased percentages are associated with the lives of millions of workers who are facing increasing spending pressure every day.
The minimum wage is designed to ensure the minimum living standards of workers and their families. As living costs increase, adjusting this wage level is necessary to maintain the real value of income.
From that perspective, the proposal to increase wages from 2027 is a positive sign, showing concern for the lives of workers and efforts to share the achievements of economic growth with the force that directly creates wealth for society.
The latest survey by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shows that more than half of workers only have enough to cover basic expenses. Nearly 27% have to borrow money monthly to stabilize their lives. Many people are not able to afford adequate health care, and the cost of educating children is still a constant burden.
For millions of workers, a monthly increase in income at this time, even if not too large, is very practical. An increase now means they have a portion of their children's tuition, medicine money for parents, rent... helping to reduce the constant worries in daily life.
From a business perspective, adjusting the minimum wage also brings positive impacts. Workers with better incomes will have motivation to work, reduce the situation of quitting, changing jobs and help businesses stabilize human resources.
In the context of increasing labor competition, retaining workers is also a competitive advantage.
Furthermore, wage increases also contribute to stimulating domestic consumption. When millions of workers have more income, market purchasing power will be improved, thereby creating more opportunities for production and business activities and promoting economic growth.
Of course, for the salary increase policy to be effective in the long term, it is necessary to synchronize with many other related policies, especially the role of grassroots trade unions in negotiating collective labor agreements.
In parallel with increasing the minimum wage, what workers need are better collective labor agreements, wage mechanisms linked to work efficiency and better supplementary welfare policies from businesses.
When the trade union plays a good representative role, workers will have more opportunities to enjoy growth achievements beyond the minimum wage.
Of course, increasing the minimum wage has never been the most satisfactory solution to the income problem of workers. But it is an important move to affirm that economic development achievements need to be shared more fairly with those who directly create wealth.
When workers are guaranteed a better standard of living, they will have more confidence to stick with the business, and businesses also have an additional stable human resource foundation for development, and the economy also has an additional foundation for sustainable growth.
