Members of the National Wage Council reached a high consensus of raising region-based minimum wages in 2016 by 12.4 percent at its third and final meeting on September 3 in Hanoi.
Accordingly, minimum wages would be lifted to VND 3.5 million, 3.1 million, 2.7 million and 2.4 million, respectively, for workers in regions I, II, III and IV.
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| Workers at the Colusa Miliket Foodstuff Joint Stock Company__Photo: An Hieu/VNA |
The agreement was reached after the Council Chairman had fixed the rate of wage increase for members to vote and for submission to the Government.
Pham Minh Huan, Chairman of the National Wage Council and Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said it was the first time over the past three years the council had reached a high consensus like that with 14 out of 15 members voting for the rate of increase.
Mai Duc Chinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, expressed a temporary satisfaction, saying the rate was equal to that in 2015, between VND 250-400 thousand for the four regions.
However, enterprises would encounter more difficulties, especially in payment of social insurance premiums, said Hoang Quang Phong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). He added that VCCI would propose competent agencies to extend the time limit for payment of social insurance premiums in order to help businesses overcome difficulties.- (VLLF)
