Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - As the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has been gathering comments on a draft on the minimum wage, insiders said the proposed wages are insufficient to make ends meet.
Under the draft, minimum wages are set by region with an hourly wage of 22,500 VND (0.97 USD) for Region I, 22,000 VND for Region II, 17,500 VND for Region III and 15,600 VND for Region IV. Lawmakers expect the wages to maintain a decent living standard for workers, notably those working part-time.
Le Dinh Quang, Deputy Head of the Labour Relation Department under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), thought otherwise.
Quang said workers are currently paid 18,000-23,000 VND per hour, already low compared to the price level. He opined that minimum hourly wages between 20,000 VND and 30,000 VND would be more suitable for labour contracts.
Tran Van Trieu, Director of the Legal Consulting Centre, shared this view and attributed the low proposed wages to payroll miscalculations.
Specifically, hourly wages have been calculated by dividing minimum monthly wages by total working hours in a month, which are the product of 26 working days per month and eight hours per day.
"Such calculation is problematic as total working days per month should be 24 days due to maternity leave and sick leave, not 26 days. Higher total working days have driven down hourly wages," Trieu said.
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