VCCI TO PROPOSE SOLUTIONS TO WAGE HIKE ISSUES

Phung Quang Huy told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on labor quality in Hanoi last week that the current solutions do not help create a high consensus among the parties concerned.

In particular, members of the National Wage Council will have to join a working group to discuss and agree on survey criteria for the minimum wage increase including the marco economy, inflation, decisive factors for wages and workers’ basic living standards in the early months of the year. After that, they will conduct a survey until September and negotiate a minimum wage hike.

Conflicting opinions of the parties concerned after the council makes a final decision on the minimum wage increase will not be accepted, Huy said after the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor wrote to the Prime Minister suggesting a regional minimum wage rise of 14.4% for next year.

The wage raise sought by the labor confederation is higher than 12.4% decided by the council at a third meeting of the council in Hanoi in early September.

Huy said that last year VCCI and the confederation were at odds over some criteria including accommodation rental for workers.

“Therefore, the parties concerned should agree on survey criteria and methods from the beginning, otherwise disagreement among them will never end,” Huy said.

The minimum wage rise of 12.4% for next year was reached by over 90% of the council’s members at the meeting on September 3. Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Minh Huan, who is also chairman of the council, told a press briefing held after the meeting that the level of consensus was the highest ever.

However, less than one month later, many industry associations said the wage increase was too high and proposed just 6-7%. For instance, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) late last month suggested the Government increase the minimum wage by only 6%.

According to VITAS, the minimum wage increase of 12.4% as proposed by the council will make life tough for textile and garment enterprises, especially when enterprises will have to pay higher social insurance based on their workers’ incomes instead of minimum wages from 2018.

Early this month, the labor confederation asked the Prime Minister to approve a rise of 14.4% instead of 12.4% as agreed earlier by negotiators of the council.

Mai Duc Chinh, vice president of the labor confederation, said though the council decided the wage rise at 12.4%, the confederation was still dissatisfied with it.

According to Chinh, the confederation’s new wage rise proposal is to protect the rights and interests of laborers as a number of business associations want modest rises of 6-7%.

Source: VCCI