On the morning of July 11, the National Wage Council held its second meeting to discuss the regional minimum wage plan for 2026.
Speaking to Lao Dong before the meeting, Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) said that before this National Wage Council meeting, the VGCL still maintained its view on the proposed increase in regional minimum wage - both in the two proposed options of 8.3% and 9.2%.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu analyzed that in the current context, many positive signals have been announced by the Government, the General Statistics Office and relevant agencies, such as: Economic growth, exports and investment have all improved. The number of enterprises withdrawing from the market tends to decrease...
"We also pay special attention to the context of price storms that are clearly affecting workers' lives. Right before the meeting, gasoline prices continued to increase - that is a clear sign showing that the purchasing power and spending of workers were affected, further highlighting the need for an appropriate salary adjustment level, enough to partly offset the impact of inflation" - Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shared.
According to him, adjusting the regional minimum wage is not only to meet living needs, but also creates an important motivation for workers to improve productivity, sense of responsibility and awareness of innovation and creativity. This is very necessary in the context that the entire Party and people are making efforts to implement the call of the General Secretary and the Prime Minister on applying science and technology to improve labor productivity.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu affirmed that salary increase is not a burden, but a way to create development momentum for both employees and businesses. When workers have better incomes, they will feel secure in contributing and accompanying businesses to overcome difficulties, thereby creating added value, offsetting costs and actively contributing to the overall development of the economy.
Previously, at the first session of the National Wage Council (taking place on June 26), the relevant parties had not yet found a common voice on the proposed regional minimum wage.
Along with the 2 proposed regional minimum wage increases from the representative of workers, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice President of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vice Chairman of the National Wage Council said that the proposed adjustment level is from 3% to 5%.
In addition, the technical department of the council also proposed an increase in the regional minimum wage from 6.5% to 7%.
The proposed salary increase levels of the 3 sides clearly show a huge difference. The three sides have not yet found a common voice on the increase and timing of the regional minimum wage increase.
