The budget for salary reform has a surplus of nearly 263,000 billion.

In a recent report sent to the National Assembly Standing Committee on practicing thrift and combating waste, Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc said that by the end of 2021, the unused salary reform fund from the central budget was about VND54,517 billion, of which the remaining amount in ministries and branches was nearly VND82 billion. Localities also had a surplus of VND208,457 billion for salary reform.

Thus, by the end of 2021, the budget had a surplus of nearly VND 263,000 billion for salary reform but had not yet been implemented. The balance by the end of last year is being urged by the Ministry of Finance to be reported by units and will be submitted to competent authorities according to regulations.

Currently, the management and use of salary reform resources are stipulated in Resolution 27 of the Central Committee and Resolution 23 of the National Assembly on the national financial plan and borrowing and repayment of public debt for the 5 years 2021-2025. In Resolution 27, the Central Committee requested the Government to study and allocate resources for comprehensive salary policy reform, including salary scales, salary tables, coefficients and allowances. This is to ensure that salary is truly a lever to increase labor productivity and efficiency.

Resolution of the 5th session (June 2023), the National Assembly requested the Government to focus resources on implementing salary reform, reporting on the salary policy reform roadmap at the 6th session, scheduled to take place in October.

In this report, the Minister of Finance said that this agency is building the 2024 State budget framework, a 3-year budget plan (2024-2026), in which it proposes a roadmap for implementing salary reform according to Resolution 27. This will be the basis for using funds to implement salary reform, that is, determining the amount that has been set aside but not yet used.

"The Ministry of Finance will review, compile statistics and report to the National Assembly on the full unused salary policy reform resources of each ministry, sector and locality as of December 31, 2022 and propose a mechanism to manage and use unused salary policy reform resources for the right purposes and effectively, avoiding loss and waste," the Ministry of Finance's report stated.

Examining this content, the National Assembly's review agency commented that the salary reform roadmap has not yet met the requirements of Resolution No. 27. The salaries of preschool and primary school teachers are still low compared to the general income level. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has proposed to increase the preferential allowance for preschool teachers by 10% and for primary school teachers by 5%. Therefore, the review agency recommends that the Government soon issue this policy.

Previously, at the regular Government meeting on September 9, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to promptly complete and report to the Government the plan to submit to the Politburo, the Central Committee, and the National Assembly on the salary reform roadmap.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will soon organize a preliminary review of 5 years of implementing Resolution 27 of the Central Committee on reforming salary policy for cadres, civil servants, public employees, armed forces and employees in enterprises.

Currently, the minimum monthly wage for employees working in enterprises in region I is 4.68 million VND; region II is 4.16 million, region III is about 3.64 million and region IV is 3.25 million. This level has increased by 6% compared to before July 1, 2022.

A survey by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor in the first half of this year showed that the average income of workers only met nearly 70% of their expenses. Workers' spending also increased by 19% compared to last year, mainly due to higher prices, electricity and water bills.