VietNamNet Bridge – The National Wages Council is about to submit to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung a plan on minimum salary increase to begin next year.

Mr. Mai Duc Chinh, Vice President of Vietnam Confederation of Labour, says the National Wages Council on Wednesday morning voted to approve the plan to increase the minimum wage in 2015, with nine out of 14 yes votes.

Accordingly, the minimum wage will increase by VND300,000, VND350,000 and VND400,000/month in different zones, with the highest level of VND3.1 million for zone 1.

Chinh says the plan will be submitted to the government for approval, and it will be applied from 2015.

Under current regulations, businesses and agencies that are not funded by the State budget must pay for their employees the minimum wage.

This is often the basis for calculating social insurance premiums for employees.

The Institute of Workers and Trade Unions of the Vietnam Confederation of Labor conducted a survey on the issue of wages and minimum living standards with 1,500 workers in 60 enterprises in 12 provinces and cities in the first half of 2014.

Results showed that the current minimum wage can cover only 69-77% of the minimum living standards.

Therefore, the Vietnam Confederation of Labor previously proposed to increase the minimum wage to VND3.4 million ($160) per month in 2015.

Yet the business community has said that a 23% increase in 2015 is too high because business production situation is still difficult.

The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam (VCCI), Vu Tien Loc, said that the minimum wage should increase by 14%.

Na Son