The monthly base salary for civil servants, public employees and those working in the armed forces has been officially stipulated to go up by 5 percent to VND 1.21 million (nearly USD 54), following a newly-signed Government decree.

According to Decree 47/2016/ND-CP that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed last week, the targeted group will enjoy the new base salary with an additional VND 60,000 on top of the previous VND 1.15 million (more than USD 51), starting from May 1 this year.

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The new base salary will be used as the basis for calculating salary, allowances and other payments prescribed by law for the mentioned groups. It will also be used for the calculation of operating expenses, living expenses as prescribed by law as well as the calculation of deductions and entitlements.

The Prime Minister’s decree regulates that the base salary will be adjusted on the basis of State budget capabilities, consumer price index and the country’s economic growth.

The decree takes effects from July 15. The targeted group’s base salary will be calculated back from May 1.

The 5 percent increase of base salary for civil servants, public employees and those working in the armed forces was decided in a resolution on the 2016 State budget estimates issued by the National Assembly last November.

In January this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs released a draft decree, open for feedback, stipulating the increase, saying that those targeted had encountered an array of difficulties with the existing minimum wage, and the new level will help improve their living standards.

Regional minimum wages also went up by an average of 12.4 percent on January 1 this year, ranging from VND 2.4 million (around USD 107) to VND 3.5 million (around USD 156) per month in the four different regions.

Source: VNA