The people's trust

"We earnestly recommend that the National Assembly and the Government consider adjusting the basic salary increase from January 1, 2026, without waiting until mid-year" - the opinion of delegate Tran Quoc Tuan in the socio-economic discussion session of the National Assembly last week made many people ponder. This delegate clearly stated that with the basic salary of 2.34 million VND, even if multiplied by a higher coefficient, the actual income of many young civil servants is only enough to cover expenses from the beginning of the month to the 20th...

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Salary is a never-ending topic on many forums. Looking back over the past 20 years, we have had 14 increases in the basic salary, the most recent of which, from July 1, 2024, was raised to 2.34 million VND/month, an increase of 540,000 VND compared to the previous 1.8 million VND, the highest ever.

However, this increase has not brought much positive meaning to salary earners. Because most of the salary increase only compensates for inflation, many people still say that "salary catches up with price". When income is not enough to cover expenses, civil servants are forced to find ways to maintain their lives, from working extra jobs to adjusting family expenses.

In the context of an increasingly large budget burden, salary adjustment is always a difficult problem. However, slow increase in basic salary does not necessarily directly affect macroeconomic indicators. On the contrary, it can cause many dedicated civil servants to leave the state apparatus, leading to consequences for the effectiveness of public management and the quality of service to the people.

Therefore, salary increases need to be viewed from the financial perspective and also from the investment perspective for the quality of the civil service. A living wage helps civil servants maintain integrity, feel secure in their dedication, and avoid negative “exits”.

Salary reform is therefore not simply a matter of reallocating the budget, but of resetting the measure of fairness between responsibilities and benefits, between rights and obligations.

Wage increases are only meaningful when accompanied by measures to control inflation and improve labor productivity. If “wages do not increase while prices increase”, reform efforts will fall into a vicious circle. When money retains its real value, wage increases will improve the quality of life.

At the same time, a reasonable salary policy also motivates civil servants to improve work efficiency and be creative in performing their duties, thereby contributing to promoting general socio-economic development.

The proposal to increase salaries early is a matter of policy and sharing and understanding with the people who are keeping the pace of the state apparatus running, helping to ensure that trust and dedication do not fade away with the bills at the end of the month. As delegate Tran Quoc Tuan emphasized: This is not just a story about salaries but a message from the people, a common heartbeat of the apparatus that is in dire need of invigoration.

Only when officials have enough to live on can they feel secure in their service, and only when civil servants are not burdened with the burden of making a living can they feel free to contribute. From there, the public apparatus can operate more effectively, fully meet people's expectations and create a solid foundation for sustainable development policies.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202511/su-gui-gam-cua-long-dan-5cc0105/