* Compared with the latest adjustment of minimum wage, how did Hepza prepared for this current one?

- Mr. Nguyen Tan Dinh: We have already opened the training courses for representatives of enterprises, HR departments and basis trade unions. Compared to the previous training, this one is more uniform. Previously, we only invited representatives of enterprises. But now we also request staffs of trade unions to study the essential content of this adjustment which may support them to clearly explain to workers and to help them supervising the implementation of each business to create consensus between employers and employees. Until this time, the training was quite successful as most representatives of companies and basis trade unions were interested in full participation.

On the training content, we described in more details and answered questions in each particular situation that businesses could encounter. For example, minimum wage which applied from the date of 1st October 2011 for enterprises operating in HCM city, City of Region I, is two millions dong/person/month so that companies with minimum wage which is lower than 2 million dong must adjust the wage; companies which have already been paying more than this level are encouraged to increase the wages depending on their salary budget and it would have meant that they are sharing workers’ difficulties from inflation such as expensive cost of living in HCMC.

* Every time adjusting the minimum wage, the fairness between the salary of long time working employees and the new one is the cause of the dispute. How to mitigate this situation, sir?

- In training, we also note that enterprises need to keep the difference between levels in the wage table. For example, previously, workers who ranked the third level of wage scale were paid two millions dong. After adjusting the minimum wage to two millions dong, this means that two millions dong is currently applied for the first level. Thus, the companies should increase the wage of workers who ranked the third level  to ensure the equality between the long time working employees and the new one. In addition, it is also important that the companies must not cut policy for workers which has been stipulated in Vietnam labor law when adjusting minimum wage. Furthermore, they must also retain the allowances and bonuses which have been agreed in the contract labor or collective bargaining agreements. When considering the salary adjustment, the companies shall be consistent with the agreement of the trade union and publicize information for employees to understand. Besides, the companies have to adjust wage article in labor contracts accordingly.

In addition, we also note that enterprises must build and implement regulation to increase the annual wage for employees. The standard and time for increasing wage levels are different for the labor who has high salary such as manager, his or her increasing wage level time is longer and for the labor who has low salary such as worker, his or her increasing wage level time is shorter. This policy should be consulted by the trade union and the employees. In fact, the workers with high skills have been working for 15 years but their salaries are just higher than the new one 124,000 dong/month. This is one of several main reasons of many strikes in recent time and the jumping of workers to another jobs with higher salaries. This leads to job jumping, fluctuation of labor in the EPZ-IPs and destabilizing production activities of companies, which strongly influence to keep workers and attract employees.

* Through this conversation, what did you expect to the employers and the employees?

Through surveys and reports of the enterprises in the EPZ-IPs, it showed that demand of recruiting was high from each enterprise, but the income of workers in many companies in the EPZ-IPs has not been attractive enough to retain and to attract employees to work; it also showed that job jumping has become popular, which badly affects the stability of production at each company, the quality, the productivity and the efficiency of production. Therefore, I suggest that each company should have a strategy to keep and attract workers by many measures which priotize in caring for employees’ lives. For the employee, in the context that enterprises have been in difficulties because of the global financial crisis impact, high inflation and interest rate fluctuations,… , I expect that employees should exert to increase production yield, quality, efficiency, and closely co-operate with businesses to overcome the current difficulties.

* Thank you.