There should be a reasonable increase.

Currently, the highest regional minimum wage is 4.96 million VND/month and the lowest is 3.45 million VND/month, but on average, the income of salaried workers in 2024 will reach about 8.5 million VND/month. Although this level is higher than the regional minimum wage, it still does not ensure a living standard for workers.

Specifically, according to a survey by the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions (now the Institute for Strategic Studies and Labor - Trade Union Magazine), the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the average monthly expenditure of each working household is up to 14,059 million VND and tends to be higher at the end of the year. In the expenditure structure, the 3 items that account for a large proportion are the cost of buying food, food, tuition and debt repayment. With the current income of individual workers only meeting 63% of family expenses; a working family that wants to cover basic expenses needs at least 2 people to work...

Thus, it can be seen that increasing the regional minimum wage is always necessary, the remaining issue is how much to increase and whether to increase or not? According to the analysis of Deputy Head of the Policy, Law and Labor Relations Department, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Le Dinh Quang, in the period 2015 - 2020, the average growth rate of the minimum wage was about 9%, but from 2020 to now, the rate has been lower, only about 5 - 6%. Therefore, the minimum wage must increase faster to meet practical needs and be suitable for the era of national development.

Another opinion is that the GDP growth rate in 2025 is expected to reach over 8%, higher than in 2024, so the minimum wage can be adjusted to a higher level. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the role of employers' representatives, employees' representatives and the State in negotiating the adjustment of the minimum wage in 2025. At the same time, encourage enterprises to produce and do business effectively, then negotiate between the two sides to increase the minimum wage, and apply it in their company.

In fact, negotiations on minimum wage increases have never been able to be concluded in one or two sessions, except in 2020, when all parties agreed not to increase due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the employee and employer representatives have their own reasons for proposing or rejecting the increase proposed by the employee representatives.

However, it must be clear that wages are the motivation for workers to contribute. The regional minimum wage acts as a floor to ensure a minimum standard of living for workers. And investing in wages is investing in development, investing in human resources. Therefore, when the minimum wage increases, the general income of workers will also be raised. This not only helps improve workers' lives but also creates motivation to promote productivity, contributing to economic growth and when the economy develops, workers will benefit from that achievement.

Former Vice Chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs (now the Committee on Culture and Society) Bui Sy Loi once expressed the view that, for businesses to retain employees, the most important issues are income and salary. Therefore, adjusting the minimum wage to a reasonable level will have "double benefits" that is, it is beneficial for employees and also beneficial for businesses in motivating employees to increase productivity and stick with the business.

Therefore, although the adjustment of the minimum wage will have direct impacts on businesses such as increasing product prices, increasing production costs, and possibly reducing business profits, labor relations within the business will become more harmonious, which in the long run will benefit the production process, limit supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages. The remaining issue is that there should be a reasonable adjustment level to ensure the lives of workers while not negatively affecting businesses and the economy. Workers always want to increase their wages, but this must be calculated and based on the harmony of interests between the two parties.

Ninh Ha