Proposed increase in regional minimum wage from 250,000 VND - 350,000 VND/month
The draft stipulates that the subjects of application are: Employees working under labor contracts as prescribed by the Labor Code; employers as prescribed by the Labor Code (including: enterprises as prescribed by the Law on Enterprises; agencies, organizations, cooperatives, households, individuals who hire or use employees to work for them according to agreements); other agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of the minimum wage prescribed in this Decree.
The draft proposes to adjust the monthly minimum wage and the hourly minimum wage applicable to employees working under labor contracts to increase by 7.2% compared to the current level (coinciding with the plan that the National Wage Council unanimously recommended to the Government ). Specifically:
Regulations on monthly minimum wages according to 4 regions : region I is 5,310,000 VND/month, region II is 4,730,000 VND/month, region III is 4,140,000 VND/month, region IV is 3,700,000 VND/month.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the above minimum wage increased from VND250,000 - VND350,000 (equivalent to an average rate of 7.2%) compared to the current minimum wage. The above minimum wage adjustment is about 0.6% higher than the minimum living standard of workers until the end of 2026 to improve the workers. This adjustment shares and harmonizes the interests of workers and businesses, paying attention to improving the lives of workers and ensuring the maintenance and development of production and business of enterprises.
Regulations on minimum hourly wages in 4 regions: region I is 25,500 VND/hour, region II is 22,700 VND/hour, region III is 20,000 VND/hour, region IV is 17,800 VND/hour.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the hourly minimum wage continues to be determined based on the equivalent conversion method from the monthly minimum wage and standard working time as prescribed by the Labor Code. This is the method that ILO experts have recommended Vietnam to choose and has been used when calculating the hourly minimum wage since 2022.
Minimum wage adjustment from 1/1/2026
Regarding the timing of adjusting the minimum wage, the draft proposes to implement it from January 1, 2026 to ensure time for businesses to prepare plans and resources for implementation.
Most countries also choose to adjust the minimum wage at the same time as the beginning of the fiscal year to facilitate business planning.
In Vietnam, from 2000 to present, the Government has adjusted the minimum wage 20 times in general, of which 15/18 times were adjusted on January 1. Other adjustments on January 1 every year are associated with unusual fluctuations (the current minimum wage is applied from July 1, 2024, this adjustment time is set in the context of the economy and society after going through the most difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic and starting to move to a state of good recovery and many positive aspects).
Regulations on the list of areas applying the minimum wage according to the new commune-level administrative unit
The current minimum wage in Decree No. 74/2024/ND-CP is determined by region and is linked to district-level administrative boundaries, which is no longer suitable for the actual situation in localities after the 2-level government arrangement from July 1, 2025. Therefore, the draft proposes a new List of regions I, II, III, and IV based on the inheritance of the current list stipulated in Decree No. 128/2025/ND-CP and is reviewed and updated at the request of the Provincial People's Committee.
The Draft Decree stipulates the application of regional areas determined according to the employer's place of operation as follows:
- Employers operating in a region shall apply the minimum wage prescribed for that region.
- If an employer has units or branches operating in areas with different minimum wages, the unit or branch operating in which area shall apply the minimum wage prescribed for that area.
- Employers operating in industrial parks and export processing zones located in areas with different minimum wages shall apply the area with the highest minimum wage.
- Employers operating in an area that has a name change or separation shall temporarily apply the minimum wage prescribed for the area before the name change or separation until the Government has new regulations.
- Employers operating in a newly established area from one or more areas with different minimum wages shall apply the minimum wage according to the area with the highest minimum wage.
Regarding the application of minimum wages, the draft Decree stipulates:
The monthly minimum wage is the lowest wage used as a basis for negotiation and payment of wages to employees applying the monthly wage payment method, ensuring that the wage according to the job or position of the employee who works enough normal working hours in the month and completes the agreed labor or work norms must not be lower than the monthly minimum wage.
The minimum hourly wage is the lowest wage used as a basis for negotiation and payment of wages to employees applying the hourly wage payment method, ensuring that the wage according to the job or position of the employee working in one hour and completing the agreed labor norm or work must not be lower than the minimum hourly wage.
For employees who are paid weekly or daily or by product or by piecework, the salary of these forms of payment, if converted to monthly or hourly, must not be lower than the minimum monthly salary or minimum hourly salary. The salary converted to monthly or hourly based on normal working hours is chosen by the employer according to the provisions of the labor law as follows:
- The converted monthly salary is equal to the weekly salary multiplied by 52 weeks divided by 12 months; or the daily salary multiplied by the number of normal working days in a month; or the product-based salary, piecework salary performed during normal working hours in a month.
- Hourly salary is converted by weekly or daily salary divided by normal working hours per week or day; or product salary or contract salary divided by normal working hours to produce products or perform contract tasks.
The draft Decree clearly states that employers are responsible for reviewing agreements in labor contracts, collective labor agreements and regulations of the employer to adjust and supplement them appropriately; salary regimes must not be abolished or reduced when employees work overtime, work at night, allowances in kind and other regimes as prescribed by labor law. For the agreed contents, commitments in labor contracts, collective labor agreements or other legal agreements that are more beneficial to employees (including agreements on salary regimes for employees doing jobs or positions requiring vocational training and education at least 7% higher than the minimum wage) compared to the provisions of this Decree, they shall continue to be implemented, unless the parties have other agreements.
HA (according to VGP)Source: https://baohaiphongplus.vn/de-xuat-tang-luong-toi-thieu-vung-7-2-tu-1-1-2026-416629.html
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