Regional minimum wage increases, workers wait for double benefits

Worker income improved

According to Decree No. 399/2026/ND-CP, from January 1, 2027, the minimum monthly salary in 4 regions is 5.7 million VND (Region I), 5.08 million VND (Region II), 4.45 million VND (Region III) and 4.04 million VND (Region IV) respectively. Compared to the current situation, the increase ranges from 310,000-390,000 VND/month.

The regional minimum wage is the minimum wage that employers must pay to employees. If a business is paying basic wages to workers higher than the new regional minimum wage, it is not necessary to automatically increase wages exactly equal to the level adjusted by the State. However, each regional minimum wage increase will be the basis for businesses to increase basic wages for employees.

Working overtime at a garment company in Ninh Binh, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu confided that every time the State adjusts the regional minimum wage, she is looking forward to it because this is an opportunity for basic wages and monthly income to be improved.

Recalling the adjustment to increase the regional minimum wage at the beginning of 2026, Ms. Thu said that her basic salary increased by more than 200,000 VND. Thanks to that, the total monthly income increased by nearly 600,000 VND. The additional amount, although not too large, also helps her have more expenses to cover living expenses, especially when prices of many essential goods continuously fluctuate.

Sharing the same expectation, Ms. Dang Thi Thuc (born in 1993), a worker at Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi), shared that she has worked at this industrial park for 14 years and has been attached to a business for that long.

Currently, her income ranges from 8-10 million VND/month. Because her two children are still young, especially the second child is only 2 years old, she does not have much time to work overtime to improve her income. Therefore, the basic salary and stable monthly incomes are important for the family.

According to Ms. Thuc, the company has a policy of considering salary increases for workers once a year at the beginning of the year. In the adjustment phase at the beginning of 2026, her basic salary increased by more than 200,000 VND. Although the salary the enterprise is paying is already higher than the regional minimum wage, each time the State adjusts the floor level, employees still have more opportunities to be considered for salary increases by the enterprise.

What Ms. Thuc is concerned about is that the family's spending pressure is still quite large. In the context of increasing food and gas prices, she hopes that salary adjustments will go hand in hand with price control solutions to make salaries truly more valuable.

Wage increase associated with improving social security benefits

From the perspective of grassroots trade unions, Mr. Nguyen Huy Sang - Chairman of the Trade Union of Yamaha Motor Vietnam Spare Parts Production Co., Ltd. (Hanoi) - assessed that the increase in the regional minimum wage from the beginning of 2027 is of practical significance to workers.

According to Mr. Sang, the living costs of workers have increased significantly, from rent, gas prices, water, food to tuition fees and childcare. Meanwhile, the income of many workers still has to be balanced very tightly to cover living expenses.

Mr. Sang also said that the regional minimum wage is the basis for businesses to build and adjust salary scales and tables. When the basic salary is increased, workers can be further improved in benefits related to social insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance and allowances and subsidies calculated based on salary.

Every year, the Trade Union coordinates with the business leadership to organize periodic dialogues, grasp the thoughts and aspirations of union members, especially recommendations related to salaries, bonuses and welfare regimes.

On that basis, the Trade Union proposes plans to adjust salaries and allowances in accordance with the production and business situation as well as the actual life of workers.

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