Original Vietnamese content is translated by LaoDongAI
Workers hope that there will soon be a sufficient salary policy to live on, instead of the current minimum wage. Photo: Nam Duong
Workers hope that there will soon be a sufficient salary policy to live on, instead of the current minimum wage. Photo: Nam Duong

Hoping for a salary policy enough to live on, to improve qualifications

Nam Dương (báo lao động) 21/02/2026 20:19 (GMT+7)

Ho Chi Minh City - Workers and trade union officials hope to have a salary policy to live on, have more opportunities to improve their qualifications, and buy social housing.

Ms. Cao Thi Chinh, Long Cuong Company: Building a sufficient living wage policy instead of the minimum wage

In recent years, the Party, State, and Trade Union have paid much attention to the lives, jobs, and wages of workers, and the minimum wage has also increased.

However, in reality, workers' salaries and incomes still do not meet the needs of life, especially for workers who have to rent boarding houses to live in and raise young children to study. This leads to the consequence that many workers do not want to get married or have children, which in the long term will cause a shortage of human resources.

Therefore, I hope that the Party and State will soon build a policy of living wages, instead of the current minimum wage. The wage level needs to ensure that workers can regenerate labor, support at least one dependent and have some savings in case of sudden difficulties or when they are out of working age.

In addition, it is necessary to build more policies to care for the health of workers, especially female workers, and include the list of specialized obstetrics and gynecology examinations and cancer screenings in the list of mandatory periodic health check-ups, and businesses are considered reasonable costs for this expense.

Mr. Nguyen Tang Phap - Samsung HCMC CE Complex Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEHC): Hoping for more training policies to improve the qualifications of workers

The biggest wish of workers is still to have stable jobs and income to ensure a beautiful and happy life.

Anh Nguyễn Tăng Pháp (đứng giữa) mong có thêm chính sách đào tạo, nâng cao trình độ cho người lao động. Ảnh: Nam Dương
Mr. Nguyen Tang Phap (standing in the middle) hopes for more training policies to improve the qualifications of workers. Photo: Nam Duong

Therefore, I hope that businesses will maintain stable production and sustainable orders so that workers do not have to worry about working hours being cut or losing their jobs. At the same time, having enough income to live on, salaries and bonuses and benefits are the foundation to help workers feel secure and stick with their families for a long time, taking better care of their families, especially in the context of increasing living costs.

We also expect to work in a respectful and fair environment, where workers' voices are heard and legitimate rights are guaranteed, labor safety, physical and mental health are increasingly given due attention, helping each person not only have jobs but also work sustainably.

I also hope that the Party, State, Trade Union and businesses will create more opportunities for workers to be trained, improve their skills, access new technologies to adapt to modern production trends, digital transformation and automation. When they learn and develop, they not only improve their self-worth but also contribute more effectively to businesses and society.

Ms. Pham Thi Hong Yen - Chairman of the Trade Union of Intel Products Vietnam Co., Ltd.:

In fact, there are still many workers who have to rent boarding houses to live in. Therefore, I hope that more and more social housing will be sold to workers. I hope that trade union organizations at all levels will continue to pay attention and have a mechanism to allocate social housing targets for each grassroots trade union, helping union members, especially workers, have the opportunity to realize their dream of settling down and stabilizing their long-term lives.

In addition, I hope to have a model of "Cheap clean market" or "zero-dollar market" for union members in difficult circumstances, organized at least once a month, prioritized for implementation in industrial parks, where there are many direct production workers facing increasing spending pressure.

Cán bộ công đoàn  mong ước ngày càng có nhiều nhà ở xã hội được bán cho người lao động. Ảnh: Minh Quân
Trade union officials wish for more and more social housing to be sold to workers. Photo: Minh Quan

In addition, I also hope that the Party, State, and Trade Union will have more policies to take special care of the children of workers, such as kindergartens near industrial parks, with appropriate support prices, and kindergartens for children of workers working in shifts, which will help workers feel secure in their work.

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