The National Assembly decided to increase the basic salary to 1.6 million VND/month from July 1, 2020.

On the afternoon of November 12, with 451/453 delegates in favor (93.37%), the National Assembly officially passed the Resolution on the 2020 State budget estimate.

Accordingly, the National Assembly assigned the Government to adjust the basic salary from VND 1.49 million/month to VND 1.6 million/month, adjust pensions, social insurance benefits, monthly allowances according to regulations (for subjects guaranteed by the State budget) and preferential allowances for people with revolutionary contributions to increase by the basic salary increase, effective from July 1, 2020.

The National Assembly requested the Government to continue implementing current regulations on salary reform source creation policies, combining thorough cost savings with restructuring the apparatus, streamlining staff, and improving the level of financial autonomy of public service units.

At the same time, from 2019, 40% of the increased revenue from the central budget and 70% of the increased revenue from the local budget compared to the estimate will be used to create a source for salary reform in 2020 and accumulate for the 2021-2025 period.

In addition, the National Assembly assigned the total state budget revenue to be over 1.5 million billion VND, and the total expenditure to be over 1.7 million billion VND. The state budget deficit is 234,800,000 million VND (equivalent to 3.44% of the gross domestic product GDP); the total state budget borrowing is 488,921,352 million VND.

Previously, presenting a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft Resolution on the 2020 State budget estimate before delegates pressed the button to approve, Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee Nguyen Duc Hai said that regarding the 2020 budget estimate, some delegates proposed to prioritize adjusting the salary increase to a higher level for those who retired before 1993, because this is the group of retirees with the lowest average pension.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly believes that, as stated by the National Assembly deputies, those who retired before 1993 have a low average pension.

Therefore, it is necessary to have a priority support policy for this group, but it is necessary to have a summary of the quantity and scope of support to build a budget estimate as well as ensure a long-term support policy, suitable to the capacity of the State budget.

“In response to the opinions of National Assembly deputies, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the Government promptly summarize, evaluate and develop an adjustment plan in line with the salary reform plan from 2021 according to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW of the Central Executive Committee in the direction of giving more priority to this group,” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Hai.