Minimum Hourly Wage: Too Low!

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (LOL-Invalids and Social Affairs) is organizing consultations with ministries, branches, agencies and associations on the Draft Decree stipulating the minimum hourly wage (LTT) for employees. employees (employees) working under labor contracts.

According to the draft, the hourly LTT level is regulated in 4 regions including: Region I is 22,500 VND/hour, Region II is 20,000 VND/hour, Region III is 17,500 VND/hour, Region IV is 15,600 VND/hour. According to the Drafting Board, the LTT level will now expand the coverage and increase the protection of LTT for groups of workers who do flexible, part-time jobs in accordance with the Labor Code.

Big difference

In Ho Chi Minh City, after the shift is over, many employees work part-time jobs such as sales, service, etc. to improve their income. However, the remuneration received from this side job is very low, so according to the majority of employees, it is very necessary to regulate the amount of LTT now.

In her spare time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bong, Pou Yuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Binh Tan district), often serves wedding parties at restaurants. With a shift lasting from 4.5 to 6 hours, she is paid 100,000 VND, or 16,000-22,000 VND/hour, equivalent to the level proposed by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. “This salary is not worth the effort, but I accept it because this is an extra income,” said Bong.

For student Ho Phuoc Huu (Dong Thap hometown), the proposed hourly LTT rate is higher than the salary for assistant work at a cafe (about 20,000 VND/hour). If working 6-8 hours/day, Phuoc earns from 120,000-160,000. “Except for food and gas costs, I have about 2 million VND left every month, I have to pay for accommodation. I hope the proposed hourly LTT will be higher so that students can have more living expenses.” – Huu longing.

Meanwhile, Ms. To Thi Thanh (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) who works as an hourly housekeeper said that the actual salary she received was 2.3 times higher than the level proposed by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Specifically, with a working package including cleaning the house, toilet, drying – ironing clothes for about 3 hours/day (3 times/week), Ms. Thanh is paid 2.5 million VND/month, about 70,000 VND/hour. If you only clean the house, you will be paid about 50,000 VND/hour. Due to her hard work, she can only work for 3-4 houses every month, earning about 7-10 million VND/month.

Not suitable for the price level

According to Mr. Le Dinh Quang, Deputy Head of the Labor Relations Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, hourly wages are not only in the informal sector but also in the sector with labor relations but do not work monthly. but only agreed to work by the hour. Currently, the hourly wage is estimated at 18,000-23,000 VND/hour – quite low compared to the current price level.

However, according to Mr. Quang, there are also cases where hourly wages are high, such as housework, babysitting, technical advice, etc., at 50,000-150,000 VND/hour. “Due to economic growth and inflationary pressure, the Government can calculate and prescribe that the hourly rate of LTT must be 20,000 VND or 30,000 VND/hour, for example, so that the two sides can reach an agreement – Mr. speak.

Mr. Tran Van Trieu, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Labor Law Consultative Center, said that depending on the job, hourly employees are paid different wages, but the reality shows that the hourly LTT level proposed by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs lower than the general level of the labor market. The proposed low hourly LTT is calculated by dividing the monthly LTT applicable to each region by the specified number of working hours in a month (26 days per month, 8 hours per day).

This calculation needs to be reviewed because according to the Law on Social Insurance (Article 28, Article 39), when calculating the rate of sickness and maternity benefits, one day is calculated over 24 working days. Calculating more than 26 man-days will cause LTT now to be dragged lower. In addition, the current monthly regional LTT level does not meet the minimum living needs of employees, while hourly and part-time employees will often not do enough work like full-time employees, meaning full-time workers. is the income that does not reach the monthly regional LTT. So, it is not appropriate to base on monthly regional LTT to calculate LTT now. Mr. Trieu suggested that the hourly area LTT should be increased to 30,000-40,000 VND/hour.

According to lawyer Tran Huu Tin, Chief of the Law Office of Tin and Associates, full-time employees in addition to the basic salary (lowest equivalent to the regional LTT) are also entitled to participate in social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance (not including allowances and bonuses). , while hourly workers are mostly only encapsulated in wages. Therefore, when calculating the hourly LTT, the drafting committee needs to include these amounts.

This is completely consistent with the current provisions of the Law on Social Insurance, which is to pay the employee’s salary in the same period, an amount corresponding to the payment of social insurance in case the employee is not subject to compulsory social insurance. Mr. Tin also suggested that the LTT level should not be applied to all jobs, especially for jobs that require skills and investment in training costs. Because the current common situation is that employers only pay wages equal to the regional minimum, it will not be satisfactory to employees.

Have to make up for the shortfalls

According to Dr. Vu Minh Tien – Director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor), this is the first year the LTT level has been introduced, so it is not possible to fully assess the impact of the supply-demand relationship. However, this provision will protect the group of workers who do part-time, seasonal work, do not work enough standard hours in a day or standard days in a month. They won’t have as many benefits as full-time workers, without mid-shift meals, annual leave, travel allowance, child support, 13th month bonus… “During the talks In the next judgment, the LTT level now needs to be multiplied by some coefficients, higher than the current proposed level to make up for these shortfalls,” said Dr. Vu Minh Tien.

(According to Employee)

Proposal to increase regional minimum wages from July 1, 2022

At the meeting on regional minimum wages of the National Wage Council taking place on the afternoon of March 28, the representative of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor proposed to increase the regional minimum wage from July 1, 2022 for employees in the region. enterprise.