NA deputies want better minimum wage, same overtime

Cu Thi Hau, former chairwoman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, spoke at the NA meeting yesterday Photo: Tuoi Tre

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They said the number of extra working hours should not be increased from the current 200 hours to 360 hours per year as proposed in an amendment.

Cu Thi Hau, former chairwoman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said, “The amendment drafters argue that workers demand extra work, but in fact, their monthly salaries, which are based on the minimum wage rate, are so low that they have to work overtime to earn more money.

Concerning the existing minimum wage rates of VND1.4 million-VND2 million ($66.6-95.2) per month, Hau said, “It is satisfactory to regulate such low minimum wage rates.”

“According to a recent study, 30 per cent of the workers at industrial parks in Ho Chi Minh City suffer malnutrition due to their low living conditions. Therefore, I propose that the current maximum annual overtime hours remain unchanged.”

Agreeing with his predecessor, Dang Ngoc Tung, chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said the National Assembly should thus ensure that the minimum wage is actually enough to pay for the minimum needs of a worker.

“No worker would wish to be overloaded with work if their income was enough to pay for their daily living activities.”

He emphasised that “the amendments are aimed at ensuring benefits for employers, rather than for employees. If those amendments are approved, labourers will be hurt,” he said.

Tung pointed out that a number of businesses are unfairly taking advantage of the low minimum wage. They pay their workers salaries that are only slightly higher than the minimum rate and then give them “incentives”, such as travel subsidies or housing allowances even though such incentives should be part of the salaries.

“Meanwhile, they only pay social insurance on the low salaries offered to workers, and this will affect the benefit workers get from social insurance, especially when they retire,” he said.

He also said that the income workers get at most enterprises is only enough to pay for 60-70 per cent of their daily needs.

Dang Ngoc Tung, chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, said the minimum wage should be increased in proportion to the rise of the consumer price index (CPI) (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Wage must commensurate with inflation

In order to ensure the actual value of the minimum wage, the wage should not be fixed as a constant amount, but would instead be increased in proportion to the rise of the consumer price index (CPI) in a certain period, Tung said.

Do Manh Hung, another deputy chairman of the NA’s Committee for Social Affairs, said the CPI, which has increased by 20 per cent, should be used as a factor in fixing a minimum wage rate.

“The minimum wage is based on three factors: labourer’s minimum needs, the country’s economic conditions, and the wage levels applicable on the labour market, but I suggest that CPI should be the fourth factor to be considered.”

Tran Ngoc Vinh, of Haiphong city, said: “There should be a regulation that when the CPI increase to a certain rate and in a certain period, the government must increase the minimum wage accordingly."

Dang Thuan Phong, a deputy of Ben Tre province, said: “If the minimum wage is not increased soon, workers may need to work as many as 700-800 hours of overtime, not the 360 hours as proposed in an amendment.”

Voicing his concern about the low minimum wage, Bui Si Loi, a deputy chairman of the NA’s Committee for Social Affairs, said low income was the main cause of 90 per cent of worker’s strikes.