Different opinions have been raised at a meeting held by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to get feedback on its two options for region-based monthly minimum wages for every employee for 2013.

>> New minimum wages to apply October 1 At yesterday’s meeting, deputy minister Pham Minh Huan heard agencies voice their opinions about the two options proposed in the ministry’s draft decree on minimum wages. According to the first option, monthly minimum wage would be raised from the current VND1.4-2 million (US$67-96) to VND1.9-2.7 million ($91-130), while under the second, the wage would be raised to VND1.8-2.5 million ($86-120). Huan told the meeting that after one of the two options is broadly agreed, the ministry will submit the decree to the Government for consideration, and if approved, the decree will take effect on January 1, 2013 for 4 regions of the country that are classified based on the socio-economic development level of each region. Region I includes the urban districts of Hanoi and HCM City; region II covers rural districts of Hanoi and HCM City and urban districts of cities including Can Tho, Da Nang, and Hai Phong; region III consists of provincial cities and some districts of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, and Vinh Phuc; and region IV covers the remaining localities. Mai Duc Chinh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Labor Confederation, told the meeting that the minimum spending of residents was estimated at VND2.4 million per people per month on average. Therefore, the agency proposed the first option be chosen. However, Chinh pointed out that even when the first option was chosen, it would only meet just 60 percent of the spending of residents in large cities, like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where the average monthly spending was much higher, at VND3.2 million. Representatives from Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Tra Vinh and Tien Giang provinces also said they preferred the first option. They explained that most local companies have paid their employees more than VND3 million per month, so such an option was appropriate. On Thursday, the ministry also consulted many other agencies about which option should be chosen. Nguyen Hong Ha, who represented the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the meeting, said that many businesses said they have not agreed to either option. Most companies suggested that the current minimum wages be raised by just 10-15 percent, or VND300,000-350,000, which they considered appropriate, Ha said. Nguyen Tan Dinh, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (HEPZA), said that the agency had collected opinions from 50 businesses about the issue and that most of these businesses preferred the second option, which has a lower increase.