Dr. Pham Thu Lan - former deputy head of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions - Photo: HA QUAN
On October 28, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor held a conference to gather feedback from officials, union members, and workers on the draft documents to be submitted to the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Changing mindsets, moving towards a minimum wage that is sufficient to live on.
Dr. Pham Thu Lan, former deputy director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, argues that the minimum wage has met the minimum living standard but is still insufficient because the criteria for evaluating and calculating the minimum wage focus on the poor and low-income groups, which are no longer appropriate given the current living standards and incomes of workers.
Dr. Pham Thu Lan proposed shifting the mindset from minimum wage to a minimum wage sufficient for living expenses, because workers have many other needs such as nutritious food, transportation, education , healthcare, and savings.
"We have legalized the minimum wage, but we haven't yet legalized a minimum wage that is sufficient to live on," Dr. Lan observed.
She suggested that an assessment is needed on the implementation of the minimum wage to meet the minimum living standard after 40 years of reform, and the perspective and goal of achieving a living wage in the country's development in the coming period.
Regarding the action plan, experts suggest that a method for calculating a living minimum wage that aligns with international standards is needed.
Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, stated that ensuring a living minimum wage is a matter of concern for the trade union organization and will be studied and proposed to the competent authorities at an appropriate time.
According to the Ministry of Interior 's Q2 2025 labor market report, the country has 53.1 million workers. The average income in Q1 2025 was 8.2 million VND/month, with male workers earning 9.3 million VND/month and female workers receiving 7 million VND/month.
The Ministry of Interior has proposed increasing the regional minimum wage by 7.2%, effective from January 1, 2026. There are four minimum wage regions: Region 1 at 5.31 million VND/month, Region 2 at 4.73 million VND/month, Region 3 at 4.14 million VND/month, and Region 4 at 3.7 million VND/month.
Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu chaired the conference - Photo: HA QUAN
Lessons in growth from other countries
Colonel Associate Professor Dr. Bui Dinh Bon - former secretary in charge of the Central Theoretical Council - emphasized that the working class plays an important role, leading the way in the industrialization and modernization of the country, under the leadership of the Party.
Building a strong working class must be linked to the socio-economic development strategy and the strategy for training and upgrading the skills of workers.
Associate Professor Bui Dinh Bon suggested groups of solutions to improve ideology, strictly implement the Party's principle of democratic centralism, and develop a team of pioneering, exemplary, disciplined, and capable Party members...
Professor Tran Thi Van Hoa, former vice-rector of the National Economics University, recounted a story about a business that promotes learning, a culture of innovation, encourages garment workers to come up with initiatives, and rewards them promptly.
She cited the example of a worker specializing in sewing sleeves who also thinks about how to sew faster, more beautifully, and increase productivity to illustrate the lesson of innovative thinking from workers. Therefore, trade unions must recognize and clearly demonstrate their role in the country's development goals.
Professor Tran Thi Van Hoa spoke about the goal of making Vietnam a high-middle-income country and the lessons learned from China, South Korea, and Singapore regarding their consistent GDP growth of over 10%. The common thread is that these countries have all effectively leveraged the role of innovation, high-quality human resources, and built a culture of innovation throughout society…
Similarly, Associate Professor Dr. To The Nguyen from the School of Economics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, suggested that the role of total factor productivity (TFP) should be clearly stated so that growth targets are clear, easy to understand, easy to implement, and easy to orient. For example, to have a high-quality workforce, Vietnam must develop leading, core training institutions.
Concluding the conference, Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor Ngo Duy Hieu stated that the feedback would be compiled, refined, and improved with contributions from the grassroots level to ensure the best possible content, reflecting the trade union's role as a representative of workers.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gop-y-van-kien-dai-hoi-dang-xiv-huong-toi-tien-luong-toi-thieu-du-song-20251028132558784.htm
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