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Documents submitted to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal show that the Ministry of Home Affairs has received numerous comments on the draft Government Decree regulating the base salary and the pay regime for civil servants, public employees, and the armed forces.
Many localities and units said the proposed base-salary increase from July is too low and should be raised above 2,530,000 dong to better improve living standards for salary earners.
The Lai Chau provincial People’s Committee said the draft decree’s proposed increase from 2,340,000 dong per month to 2,530,000 dong per month—an about 8% rise over two years from 1/7/2024 to 1/7/2026—is low and does not meet the objective in Resolution 27-NQ/TW: “By 2025, the lowest wage for civil servants should be higher than the lowest wage in the regional business sector.”
It noted that the base salary of 2,530,000 dong per month is only about 56.6% of the region’s average business-sector minimum wage in 2026, which it said would fail to ensure living standards.
The province also pointed to increased workload at communes and wards due to administrative-unit restructuring and the two-tier local government model, alongside higher task requirements. It argued that with civil servants’ incomes remaining low and prices having risen, the base salary does not cover essential expenditures, reducing job security and making it harder to attract highly capable personnel to the public sector.
Dak Lak provincial People’s Committee similarly said the proposed increase does not match inflation and current market fluctuations, arguing that it would be difficult to guarantee basic living standards amid rising costs and inputs.
Can Tho City’s People’s Committee urged the drafting agency to consider raising the base salary above the proposed level.
Several submissions cited CPI pressure and rising living costs, including higher prices for essential goods, housing, healthcare, education, electricity, and water. They said these increases reduce the real value of salaries and affect the living standards of civil servants and the armed forces.
They also argued that the current base salary does not meet the minimum living standard. While it has been adjusted in recent years, it remains below actual living costs and does not provide sufficient motivation for ongoing dedication. In addition, they said public-sector income remains noticeably lower than in the private sector, making it difficult to attract and retain skilled professionals.
The Ministry of Education and Training said it is necessary and appropriate to continue regulating the base salary, but that transitional provisions tied to the wage-reform roadmap (pay by job position) should be added to align with Government Resolution.
Under Decree No. 293/2025/NĐ-CP, the average regional minimum wage in the business sector is 4,470,000 dong per month.
Under the draft decree, even after raising the base salary to 2,530,000 dong, the lowest civil-servant salary would remain below the business-sector minimum wage. Commenters said this creates no clear alignment with the labor market and does not show a meaningful improvement in civil-servant incomes, leaving living standards difficult.
In response to the proposals, the Ministry of Home Affairs suggested studying the impact assessment of adjusting the base salary increase, clarifying the wage gap between the public and private sectors, and evaluating the extent to which the adjusted salary meets basic living costs.
Based on that assessment, it said the Government should consider adjusting the base salary to a more appropriate level in line with the wage-reform policy under Resolution 27-NQ/TW.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed to keep the 2.53 million dong increase as stated in the draft, to ensure adherence to Party guidelines and Government directions.
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