Eliminate state intervention in wage policy

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said that, as planned, next September, the draft revised Labor Code will be posted on the website to widely collect opinions from businesses and employees on the contents expected to be revised this time.

The revised bill contains important content related to wage policy, aiming to ensure the harmony of interests between employers and employees in the context of Vietnam's increasing integration and deep participation in global trade agreements.

In the coming time, the State will not directly intervene in the wage policy of enterprises.

According to Resolution 27-NQ/TW on reforming wage policy, in addition to reforming wages in the public sector, policies related to wages in enterprises are also proposed.

Therefore, according to Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep, in this reform, basically, wages in the business sector must still comply with the provisions of the Labor Code.

However, the salary scale, salary table in the enterprise, the distance between levels, and the time for salary increase are entirely decided by the enterprise itself based on negotiations with the organization representing the employees in that enterprise, as long as the salary that the enterprise pays to employees is not lower than the minimum wage announced by the Prime Minister.

Expressing his views on allowing enterprises to be autonomous in their wage policies, Mr. Le Dinh Quang - Deputy Head of the Labor Relations Department, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said that there are still many concerns. Citing the survey results of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, it shows that in the past, up to 90% of strikes were related to wages and working conditions, of which strikes directly related to wages and bonuses accounted for about 60%.

Therefore, when the bargaining capacity of workers and trade unions is still limited, there is still a need for State management and intervention in the wage mechanism in enterprises. At the same time, there needs to be a roadmap to raise awareness among workers, strengthen State management in enterprises, and create a legal corridor to ensure that employers comply with the law.

In response to the question of how businesses cannot take advantage of the law's provisions to "force" workers' wages, a representative of the Department of Wage Relations (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) said that the law always balances the interests of both sides, the viewpoint of building the law is to reduce procedures for businesses to develop but still ensure the rights of workers.

In parallel with the policy of gradually reducing State intervention, moving towards enterprises deciding their own wage policies based on negotiations and agreements with employees, Decree 27-NQ/TW also sets the target that by 2020, the minimum wage must meet the minimum living needs. Recently, the National Wage Council met to finalize the regional minimum wage increase of 5.3%, and the remaining deficit will have to be compensated by 2020.

Mr. Nhien