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Vietnam agrees on 7.3-pct minimum wage increase in 2017

Xinhua, August 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Vietnam National Wage Council (NWC) on Tuesday afternoon finalized an option on minimum wage increase of 7.3 percent in 2017.

NWC head Pham Minh Huan made the announcement at a press conference held in capital Hanoi, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on its website on Wednesday.

According to Huan, who also serves as MoLISA Deputy Minister, said the NWC agreed on minimum wage increase ranging from 180,000 Vietnamese dong to 250,000 Vietnamese dong (8.07-11.21 U.S. dollars) for respective regions in 2017, posting an average rise of 7.3 percent compared to that of 2016.

The minimum wage rise of 7.3 percent will be submitted to the prime minister for approval. Following the minimum wage increase of 2017, regional wages of four regions in Vietnam will range from 2.58 million Vietnamese dong (115.69 U.S. dollars) in region 4 to 3.75 million Vietnamese dong (168.16 U.S. dollars) in region 1, said MoLISA on its website.

Mai Duc Chinh, director of Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (GCL), said on behalf of local workers that his confederation was not satisfied with the rise.

Earlier, the GCL proposed minimum wage increase of 11 percent.

Hoang Quang Phong, deputy head of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the rise of 7.3 percent presents an effort of employers as there remain many difficulties in Vietnam's business situation.

At a meeting in mid-July, the NWC proposed an increase of 11 percent in minimum wage, or 250,000-400,000 Vietnamese dong (11.21-17.94 U.S. dollars) for each region.

Such proposal was made based on a survey, showing that minimum wage meets up only 80 percent of demand of local workers. Only 8 percent of Vietnamese labors have savings, said MoLISA. Endit