Deputy Prime Minister: State-owned enterprises must have a salary payment mechanism like private enterprises

Chairman and CEO salaries, do we need to ask for opinions?

On the afternoon of April 17, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the draft Law on Management and Investment of State Capital in Enterprises. The issue of wages of employees in State-owned enterprises received much attention from the delegates.

According to Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang, in Article 24, the draft law stipulates that the board of members or the company chairman decides on the salary, remuneration and bonus policies of employees.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang at the meeting. Photo: QH

This entity also decides on the salary, remuneration and bonus policies of the direct owner's representative and controller after consulting with the owner's representative agency.

“The direct owner's representative, controller, general director and other management positions according to the enterprise's charter receive salaries from the enterprise's general salary fund,” said Mr. Thang.

According to the Minister of Finance, the above regulation is consistent with Resolution 12 of the Central Committee, which determines the implementation of the salary, bonus and remuneration regime for employees and managers of State-owned enterprises in accordance with the market mechanism, with high competitiveness based on production and business results.

However, when examining this draft, the Economic and Financial Committee proposed not to stipulate that the board of members and the company chairman must consult the owner's representative agency before deciding on salary policies for direct owners' representatives and controllers.

Commenting on this, Vice Chairman Vu Hong Thanh said that if state-owned corporations and groups are forced to "ask for permission from the owner agency", it would be interfering too deeply in production and business activities.

Emphasizing the particularly important role of state-owned enterprises, especially at times when life is unpredictable, such as natural disasters, floods, and epidemics, the National Assembly Chairman noted that this draft law must be amended to be stronger, more innovative, with shorter procedures, and can take effect immediately after the National Assembly passes it (effective from July 1, 2025).
“People who do business for profit have full rights, adding that procedure is adding administrative procedures. I support the inspection agency in this, there is no need to ask too much. Enterprises already have principles, if the chairman gives you too much salary, the inspection agency will come in and punish him, there is no problem to discuss,” Mr. Thanh emphasized.

Also related to the issue of wages, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that it is necessary to apply measures to ensure that employees in state-owned enterprises have enough to live on. In fact, the salary and bonus regime of private enterprises is always higher than that of the state.

The National Assembly Chairman expressed that going to a private hospital is completely different from going to a public hospital, or private schools are also different from public schools, anyone who can afford it will send their children to private schools. Therefore, now we must improve the competitiveness of state-owned enterprises through the salary payment mechanism for workers.

Enterprises decide to pay employees' salaries

Receiving the explanation later, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc affirmed that this draft is very different from the original one when it was presented to the National Assembly at the previous session. Mr. Phoc said that he chaired many meetings, listened to opinions to absorb and complete the draft law.

Regarding the issue of salary to attract talented people and good experts, Mr. Ho Duc Phoc emphasized the view that there must be a salary payment mechanism like the private sector and give autonomy to businesses.

“A good engineer, a private enterprise pays 100 million VND per month, we only pay 10 million VND, how can we attract him?” said Mr. Ho Duc Phoc, at the same time expressing his wish that the project will take effect from July 1, 2025 to “enter life faster”.

Speaking further on this issue, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang continued to emphasize that the issue of salary is completely given to all enterprises. However, the issue is whether it is necessary to ask for the opinion of the capital representative agency regarding the salary of the chairman, members of the board of directors, and the board of supervisors.

Expressing his opinion, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc said that when the representative of state capital is "seconded" to an enterprise, the salary will be paid at the enterprise, not received from the state budget.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that businesses must act like businesses. “When times are tough, sending people down, when business is good, but receiving administrative salaries is not very exciting,” said Mr. Hai.

Source TPO

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/pho-thu-tuong-doanh-nghiep-nha-nuoc-phai-co-co-che-tra-luong-nhu-tu-nhan-a188952.html