Basic salary increase and arising problems - Lesson 1: Motivation from new salary
Increasing the basic salary is a happy thing for every cadre, civil servant and employee. However, all levels, sectors and units, especially those implementing the autonomous mechanism, are having to make efforts to handle the difficulties arising from the source of salary payment according to regulations.
From July 1, 2024, the basic salary of cadres, civil servants and public employees will increase by 30%. This event is considered a driving force contributing to cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers being assured in their work and improving labor productivity.
Waiting and Expecting
Before July 1, 2024, information about increasing the basic salary received much attention from all cadres, civil servants, public employees, and salaried workers.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy - a teacher at Nghia Hoi Kindergarten (Nghia Dan) has worked for nearly 20 years, her current salary is 3.99. Before the salary increase, that salary was nearly 7.2 million VND/month. From July 2024, with that salary, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy will receive a salary of more than 9.3 million VND/month.
"My colleagues and I are really looking forward to this salary increase. The salary increase and allowance increase will help improve our lives and motivate us to try harder and dedicate ourselves to our profession," said teacher Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy.
Ms. Lo Thi Thuy, a Culture - Information officer in Xieng My commune (Tuong Duong) has 18 years of experience working in the locality. Including salary and allowances, Ms. Lo Thi Thuy's total monthly income before the salary increase was more than 8 million VND. Now that the basic salary has increased by 30%, Ms. Lo Thi Thuy is very happy, because although the salary has increased, she is worried when hearing that the allowances are expected to be abolished and reduced.
"Working 70 km away from home, I have to rent a room, travel and accommodation costs are expensive. With that salary, I have to spend very frugally to cover living expenses and raise my children. The government has a policy of increasing salaries, and I and other officials and civil servants are very excited. But we are worried that if the salary increase is accompanied by a reduction in allowances...", Ms. Lo Thi Thuy expressed.
For Ms. Phan Thi Tam, a nurse at a hospital in Vinh city, her current salary is 3.33 (equivalent to nearly 6 million VND/month). With that basic salary, along with the hospital's additional income, Ms. Tam has a total income of over 12 million VND/month. When the basic salary increases, if calculated according to that coefficient, her salary will be nearly 7.8 million VND/month. However, she also "heard" information that Ms. Tam's total monthly income cannot increase compared to before, because the autonomous unit must balance revenue and expenditure. Thus, basically, the salary has increased, but the total income has not increased.
From July 1, 2024, cadres, civil servants and public employees nationwide (excluding the armed forces) will have their basic salary increased from VND 1.8 million to VND 2.34 million/month. In Nghe An (as of December 31, 2023), the total number of cadres, civil servants and employees receiving salaries from the budget: 53,971 people, of which 10,293 people work (including the number of civil servants and the number of labor contracts) in public service units that self-insure regular expenses and public service units that self-insure regular expenses and investment expenses.
There are 10 cases that will receive a basic salary increase this time: Officials and civil servants from the central to district levels; officials and civil servants at the commune level; civil servants in public service units; contract employees with certain types of jobs in administrative agencies and public service units; people working within the payroll quota at associations that receive operating expenses supported by the State budget.
Other cases applying the new basic salary include officers, professional soldiers, workers, defense officials and contract workers in the army; salaried officers, non-commissioned officers, police workers and contract workers in the police; people working in cryptographic organizations; non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the army and non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the police; people working part-time at the commune, village and residential group levels.
Any salary increase brings joy to workers. In principle, increasing the basic salary will increase the individual's income. However, it is completely different from increasing the individual's ability to balance income and expenditure or save. Because before each "planned" salary increase, market prices, especially consumer goods, have been on the rise. Many people have shared that: "Green vegetables have increased in price today; meat and fish have increased since yesterday; gasoline has increased since the day before... but salaries will increase the day after tomorrow".
A new cycle of balancing spending begins when wages increase, that is: How to "earn and spend"? How to accumulate?... All, workers are waiting for their wages. Therefore, returning to the problem that our ancestors have solved for generations: "Eat smart to be full, dress smart to be warm"!
The highest salary increase ever
The new basic salary increase from July 2024 will be implemented in accordance with Decree 73/2024/ND-CP dated June 30, 2024 of the Government on the basic salary and bonus regime for cadres, civil servants, public employees and armed forces (the basic salary will increase by 30% from VND 1.8 million/month to VND 2.34 million/month). This is the largest salary increase ever.
Through analysis by ministries, branches and the National Assembly, it is shown that the implementation of salary reform according to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW (dated May 21, 2018) of the 7th Conference of the 12th Central Executive Committee has been postponed 3 times and has not yet completed the tasks set out in this Resolution. The Steering Committee for salary reform has held dozens of meetings to discuss solutions to implement the contents of the above Resolution.
Salary reform is an important issue, directly affecting the lives of tens of millions of cadres, civil servants, public employees, armed forces, and workers in the public sector and affecting more than 50 million people who benefit from policies related to the basic salary. This basic salary increase is implemented according to Conclusion 83-KL/TW dated June 21, 2024 of the Central Executive Committee, but salary reform according to job position has not been carried out as the target of Resolution 27-NQ/TW (2018).
According to Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra, this salary increase is the highest ever, contributing to improving the lives of those receiving salaries and benefits, subsidies, and support policies associated with the basic salary. This also creates motivation to improve productivity and work efficiency, contributing to social stability, demonstrating the Party and State's concern for cadres, civil servants, public employees, armed forces, and those receiving benefits, subsidies, and allowances in the context of the country's many difficulties. By the end of 2023, the whole country has set aside 680,000 billion VND to implement the new salary policy.
In Nghe An, according to the report of the Department of Finance, the province's demand for implementing the 2024 salary reform policy is expected to be 2,300 billion VND; of which, the adjustment of the basic salary is 1,700 billion VND; the bonus fund is 280 billion VND; other policies from the salary reform source are 320 billion VND. The leader of the Department of Finance said: The source for implementing the 2024 salary reform in Nghe An province is expected to accumulate 2,399 billion VND. The estimated data on the 2024 budget assigned by the Prime Minister to Nghe An province is currently being submitted to the Ministry of Finance to determine the reform source in 2023 to be transferred to 2024 for implementation.
Thus, up to now, the 2024 salary reform funding source of Nghe An province is expected to meet the demand for increasing the basic salary and bonus regime for cadres, civil servants and public employees applied from July 1, 2024. At the same time, units belonging to the category of public service units that self-insure regular expenses, self-insure investment expenses or are autonomous at the prescribed levels need to make efforts to find additional sources of revenue to pay new salaries to employees.
(To be continued)
