The National Wage Council managed to nail down a 7.3 percent increase to the minimum wage in 2017 (Photo: nld.com.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The National Wage Council (NWC) on August 2 managed to nail down a 7.3 percent increase to the minimum wage in 2017.
The surprising consensus reached at its second meeting this year came amid doubts that the NWC could ever pull off a final figure as its members kept proposing vastly different increase rates at the first meeting late last month.
An average of 7.3 percent raise in the minimum wage would equal an extra of 180,000 VND to 250,000 VND (8-11 USD) a month for employees in the private sector.
The exact increase, however, would depend on the specific rate applied to the areas where the employees work, with those in Region I benefitting from the highest wage surge, from 3.5 million VND to 3.75 million VND a month.
Region I includes big districts and towns in Hanoi, Hai Phong, HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The increased amount in Region II is 220,000 VND and decrementally less by 20,000 VND for other regions.
The 7.3 percent raise is large compared to the initial figure of 4.62 percent proposed by the representative of the employers, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
Vietnam’s General Confederation of Labour, on behalf of the employees, also compromised on its initial demand for an 11.1 percent hike.
The NWC will submit its proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for approval. The wage hikes will be applied on January 1, 2017 if it is signed into effect.-VNA
