Voters and National Assembly deputies have complained about this problem for a few years.

The allocation of commune-level civil servants is implemented based on the classification of administrative units.

From 2010 to June 25, 2019, according to Decree 92/2009, the number of civil servants was as follows: no more than 25 civil servants for first-class communes; and a maximum of 23 for second-class and 21 for third-class.

Later, the government issued Decree 34/2019: beginning on June 25, 2019, the number of cadres and civil servants at commune level would be cut by two people: no more than 23 civil servants would be allowed for first-class communes, and a maximum of 21 for second-class and 19 for third-class.

The number of part-time officers at commune level has also decreased from 22 to 14 for first-class, 20 to 12 for second-class and 19 to 10 for third class.

Most recently, when implementing the policy on assigning regular policemen in communes, one more staff was cut – the head of commune police.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), after arranging administrative units at the commune level, there were 10,599 administrative units in communes throughout the country, with 212,606 cadres and civil servants (20.6 in every commune). This represented a decrease of 9 percent or 20,833 civil servants compared with 2015.

But as administrative units were rearranged, the area of communes increased as well as the population, resulting in bigger workloads, thus putting pressure on civil servants. 

In other words, the number of civil servants are nearly the same in different communes, but the population of the localities differs greatly.

Long Binh ward of Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai province, for example, has 130,500 people, while Song Da ward, Muong Lay town of Dien Bien province has only 1,008 people. A commune in Binh Chanh District, HCM City has 130,000 residents, while a commune in Lang Son province has only 400 residents.

Therefore, some localities have suggested increasing the number of civil servants at commune level based on the population scale.

The MHA has suggested that one more civil servant needs to be used for every increase of 5,000 residents. As for the ward belonging to the city under the province, one more civil servant needs to be used for every increase of 3,500 residents.