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| Workers of Viet Duc International Investment Company Limited (Xuan Hoa Commune, Dong Nai Province) during production hours. Photo: T. My |
The above salary increase proposal is receiving much attention and expectation from workers national.
Workers' lives are still difficult
According to a survey by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the income of most workers is just enough to cover basic needs. About 55% of workers said they had enough to live on, 26% had to tighten their belts, and nearly 12.5% even had to borrow money to maintain their lives. Meanwhile, prices of essential goods, rent, electricity, water, etc. are constantly increasing, making workers' lives increasingly difficult.
Faced with this reality, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed two options for increasing the minimum wage in 2026. specific, option 1 is to increase by 9.2%, equivalent to an increase of 320-450 thousand VND/month depending on the region; option 2 is to increase by 8.3%, equivalent to 290-410 VND/month. The proposed wage increase is based on factors such as inflation, labor productivity, and minimum needs to reproduce labor.
| Currently, the Government regulates the minimum wage for employees working under labor contracts in 4 salary regions. Region I is 4.96 million VND/month; Region II is 4.41 million VND; Region III is 3.86 million VND and Region IV is 3.45 million VND. Compared to actual costs, this level is still quite modest, especially for families with small children or those who have to rent a house. |
In the context of increasingly escalating living costs, many workers expect this proposal to soon become a reality to ensure a minimum standard of living and improve workers' income.
Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, a worker at Tenma Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park, Tran Bien Ward), said that with a new worker's salary of about 5 million VND/month, minus rent, electricity, water, and living expenses, there is not much left. Workers are waiting for a salary increase to compensate for rising prices and ensure a stable life away from home.
Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Hoai Thu (from Vinh Long province) has worked as a wood worker in Dong Nai for 6 years. Every month, Ms. Thu sets aside a fixed amount of 4 million VND of her salary to send back home to support her 2 children's education. There are months when there are few orders and no overtime, so Ms. Thu falls into a situation of being short of money.
Ms. Thu shared: “Every time a new school year begins, I have to save for several months to have enough money to buy books, clothes and pay tuition for my children. I hope that in early 2026, LTTV will increase to reduce the pressure on workers' lives.”
Motivate workers to work effectively
According to union officials, the minimum wage is not only the income floor, but also the basis for calculating the regime and benefits for workers. However, for the wage increase to be effective, other solutions must be implemented in parallel, such as: developing workers' housing, improving working conditions, supporting healthcare, education and vocational training... The minimum wage must be accompanied by a comprehensive social security policy to create a real safety net for workers.
In early 2025, to share with employees, some enterprises in the province increased their salaries. Topband Smart Dong Nai Co., Ltd. (Long Thanh commune) in early April 2025 decided to increase salaries by 1 million VND/person for 3,000 employees in the whole company. Of which, the basic salary increased by 500,000 VND and the support money was 500,000 VND. Currently, the average income of employees in the company without overtime is 7.8 million VND/month.
Ms. Pham Thi Kim Thu, HR staff of Topband Smart Dong Nai Co., Ltd., said that the salary increase is to recognize the contributions of employees; at the same time, create motivation for workers to continue to stick with the company. In 2024 alone, the company will fully implement the regime, policies, salaries and bonuses for employees. Currently, the company's orders have increased a lot, production is stable and continues to promote the treatment regime to improve the lives of employees as well as attract resources to work.
Some garment enterprises also care about their employees by increasing "hot bonuses" and productivity bonuses. Typically, Dong Tien Joint Stock Company (Amata Industrial Park, Long Binh Ward) has just "hot bonuses" for all employees with a total amount of 3.35 billion VND on the occasion of the company completing the plan for the first 6 months of the year. The bonus is paid directly to employees worth 1 million VND/person. Since the beginning of this year, the company has paid bonuses to employees in addition to monthly salaries with a total amount of about 19 billion VND (average bonus of nearly 5.7 million VND/person).
General Director of Dong Tien Joint Stock Company Nguyen Van Hoang shared that the guaranteed salary will greatly determine the productivity of employees, creating motivation for them to stick with the company, develop their skills and take more responsibility for their work. With the contributions of employees, in the first 6 months of 2025, the company's export turnover reached 71.84 million USD. The emulation award is a solid foundation for the collective of employees to believe and strive to exceed the 2025 plan.
Workers are the force that creates wealth for enterprises, the resource that contributes to socio-economic development. Therefore, in addition to caring for workers with social security policies, increasing the minimum wage shows the concern of the state, society and enterprises for the lives of workers. When the minimum wage is sufficient to live on, it will reduce the rate of job abandonment and job transfer, increase productivity and retain skilled workers.
Currently, the National Wage Council is continuing negotiations to find a solution that harmonizes the interests of employees and businesses. The official adjustment is expected to be announced later this year and can be applied from early 2026. Employees across the country are waiting for the final decision in the hope that the new wage will help them feel more secure in their jobs, stabilize their lives and actively contribute to the development of businesses as well as the national economy.
Thao My
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/cong-doan/lao-dong-viec-lam/202507/nguoi-lao-dong-ky-vong-tang-luong-toi-thieu-vung-bfa0e48/
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