Increasing salaries to motivate development and "retain" talented people: Expert

WVR - Increasing wages creates motivation to retain civil servants in the public sector and attract talented people, said Dr. Bui Sy Loi in his discussion with the World and Vietnam Report.
Increasing salaries to motivate development and "retain" talented people: Expert
Increasing salaries to motivate development and "retain" talented people: Dr. Bui Sy Loi. (Photo: VGP)

Recently, the National Assembly adopted a resolution outlining the State budget estimate and central budget allocation plan for the year 2024, including the implementation of salary policy from July 1, 2024. It is expected that the total central budget allocated to implement salary reform is about 132 trillion VND; the accumulated source of the local budget is about over 430 trillion VND.

Thus, the budget has allocated 562 trillion VND to ensure to carry out the new salary regime from July 1, 2024, in accordance with the Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW/2018, on reforming the country's wage policies, adopted at the 7th plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee.

According to the Government's calculations, to implement wage reform, the total estimate need for additional funding from the budget in the period 2024 - 2026 is more than 499 trillion VND. Of which, spending on salary reform is 470 trillion VND, pension adjustment is 11.1 trillion VND and preferential benefits for people with meritorious services is 18 trillion VND. Average salary of civil servants and public employees increased by 32% compared to the average income of workers.

It is expected that the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will submit to the Government a plan to increase the regional minimum wage. In recent sessions at the National Assembly, many deputies proposed increasing the regional minimum wage concurrently with the roadmap for implementing salary reform from July 1, 2024.

"Through four times of salary reform, I have seen that there has never been a time when the salary policy has been as synchronous, comprehensive and fundamental as this one. This is a new salary policy that is very progressive, fair, truly harmonious and reasonable", said Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra.

Spending on salaries is spending on development investment

Expressing his opinion, Dr. Bui Sy Loi, former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Social Committee, said that salary reform on July 1, 2024 is the right time for the goal of ensuring workers to live on their wages.

Mr. Loi commented that in reality, the salaries of cadres, civil servants and public employees are still not enough to meet their living expenses, and it is very difficult to create a team of professional, diligent and effective civil servants. The necessary and urgent immediate task is to speed up wage policy reform to ensure the lives of workers. At the same time, to ensure adequate salaries, reflecting the true value of the labour of civil servants and public employees.

Regarding the labour relations, wages must meet the minimum living standards of workers and their families (according to the provisions of the Labour Code). With regards to the public sector, spending on salaries for officials and civil servants is spending on development investment. Therefore, Mr. Loi said that it is necessary to reform wages so that it is truly an important motivation to make officials and civil servants to improve their capacity to perform public duties more effectively and reduce corruption.

Also according to Mr. Bui Sy Loi, salary reform in current conditions is good news for civil servants and public employees, creating motivation for officials, civil servants and public employees to be interested in promoting labour productivity and attachment to their agencies.

Investing in wages is investing in development. As salaries are so low, officials and civil servants have to work many jobs to earn more income. In addition, low wages are not enough to live, leading to the consequence that cadres, civil servants, and public employees are lack of motivation to work and do not contribute their best because the salary does not reflect the true value of their labour.

With the development of the market economy, the nature of civil servant salaries is that salaries must approach the value of market labour and aim for fairness and substance. It is necessary to establish a minimum wage for administrative civil servants equal to labor capacity.

Increasing salaries to motivate development and "retain" talented people: Expert
Increasing salaries to motivate development and "retain" talented people: Salary reform on July 1, 2024 is the right time. (Photo: VGP)

"Therefore, wage policy reform must ensure a living wage for officials and civil servants according to job position, title and leadership position, in accordance with the State's resources and career revenue sources. public services, ensuring a reasonable correlation with wages in the labor market", Dr. Bui Sy Loi expressed his opinion.

Reform salaries to attract talented people

The goal of salary reform is to ensure that employees have enough to live on their wages. In particular, consideration must be given to regulating specific types of allowances for specific industries. At the same time, to retain workers working in those fields as well as attract talented people with professional qualifications to the public sector to overcome the situation of a part of officials, civil servants, and public employees shifting from the public sector to the private sector.

Our country always considers people as the focus, the goal, and the driving force of development. To achieve the goal and realize this ideology, implementing salary reform and ensuring material life for workers, officials, civil servants and public employees is extremely important.

Also according to Dr. Bui Sy Loi, it is important to create motivation to retain public sector civil servants, creating motivation for the public sector apparatus. From there, ensure a living wage so that cadres, civil servants and public employees do not have to have 'outer legs longer than their inner legs', and wholeheartedly perform the functions and tasks assigned to them according to their job positions. industry, field.

In addition, according to Mr. Loi, we need to carefully recognize and evaluate the current situation of a team and force of civil servants from the public sector spilling over into the private sector. "In the 4.0 industrial society, human resources are extremely valuable. We must strive to have a progressive society, the 4.0 industrial revolution must be about doing less, enjoying more. The most important thing is to apply technology information, digital technology, digital economy, to minimize manual labor while still increasing labor productivity", Dr. Bui Sy Loi said.

* Dr. Bui Sy Loi, Senior expert of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, former Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs ot the National Assembly.

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