The base salary may increase to 1.3 million VND/month.

The basic salary could increase from 1.21 million VND to 1.3 million VND per month in 2017, according to a proposal by the Government.

On the morning of October 17th, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly continued its 4th session, hearing presentations and giving opinions on the implementation of the state budget in 2016, the state budget estimates and the central budget allocation plan for 2017 submitted by the Government.

Reviewing the government's report, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, Nguyen Duc Hai, stated that, given the high cost of living and the difficulties faced by civil servants, the proposal to increase the basic salary from 1.21 million VND to 1.3 million VND per month (equivalent to a 7% increase) is reasonable.

However, the review agency recommended that the Government consider allocating resources to implement the salary reform plan.

The National Assembly's review body agrees with the government's proposal to increase the basic salary to 1.3 million VND per month.

"Adjusting salaries must go hand in hand with downsizing the workforce, reorganizing the state administrative apparatus, and improving work efficiency; and careful consideration and calculation are needed to clearly identify the source for implementing salary adjustments...", Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai stated.

The auditing agency also noted to the Government the feasibility of requiring ministries, central and local agencies to independently arrange and save within their allocated budgets to create a source for salary adjustments.

From May 1st, the basic salary for civil servants and public employees has increased to 1.21 million VND per month. Considering the period from 2008 to the present, the basic salary has more than doubled, from 0.54 to 1.21 million VND per month.

At the "Context and Possibilities for Salary Reform" workshop organized by the Ministry of Interior on October 12th, many shortcomings in Vietnam's salary system were once again dissected by experts. A major shortcoming cited by experts as an example for analysis and comparison was that, with the current base salary, the salaries of the General Secretary and the President are only equivalent to those of an accountant.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Xuan Cau - former Head of the Department of Economics and Resource Management, National Economics University, the current basic salary system (salary applied to officials and civil servants) uses an average coefficient of 2.34 for university graduates - that is, based on professional qualifications. Meanwhile, the highest coefficient in this table is for the General Secretary and the President, which is based on their titles.

Under this system, with the highest coefficient of 13 multiplied by the base salary, the highest-ranking leadership position in the country would only earn just over 15 million VND. Meanwhile, according to Decree 51/2013, the lowest basic salary for a chief accountant in a Grade III company (the lowest grade) is already 16 million VND, and the Chairman of the Board of Members of an economic group earns 36 million VND.

"Such a comparison reveals the utter absurdity. If the salaries of the General Secretary and the President are like that, then it's naturally understandable that the salaries of officials and civil servants are low. Of course, everything mentioned here is according to regulations, not reality," Mr. Cau said.

According to VNE