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Businesses join employees in overcoming inflation
A number of businesses have provided their employees with accommodation and allowances to help them survive in the context of rising inflation.
The Sai Gon Paper Company has provided free accommodation and lunch to its workers since early this month, said head of the company’s Board of Directors Cao Tien Vi. The company also plans to open a kindergarten for their workers’ children.
Meanwhile, other businesses have raised their employees’ salary, saying stabilising workers’ life is the top priority of their company. A representative of the Gia Dinh Textile and Garment Company said that profit has become the company’s second target after workers’ welfare.
According to the Talent Net Personnel Consulting Company and the Global Consulting Company Mercer, up to 56 percent of the total 120 businesses under their surveys have assisted their workers to battle inflation by raising their wages by around 10 percent. The remaining businesses have assisted their employees with travel expenses and free lunch.
Talent Net General Director Tieu Yen Trinh said that businesses would rather have their profits reduced to keep their employees working.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) is considering the minimum salary for 2009 scheme to be submitted to the Government for approval.
According to the minimum salary raising roadmap for the 2007-2012 period that has been approved by the Government, each year the minimum salary will be raised from between 20-23 percent in the domestic sector and 13-15 percent in the foreign-invested sector.
However, the price hike factor has not yet been considered in the minimum wage raising scheme, said Deputy Head of the MOLISA’s Salary Policy Department Hoang Minh Hao. Once the new minimum pay is applied, employees’ salary has been reduced already.
He said that his department will put forward the detailed increasing pay level for the following years based on the forecasted economic growth and inflation rate.
Last March, the Prime Minister asked the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate with relevant ministries to develop a decree on readjustment of minimum wage, including the minimum wage for the domestic and foreign-invested sectors, to present to the Government in September.
The minimum monthly salary for workers now stands at 540,000 VND. According to the General Statistics Office, rising consumer price index has resulted in the sharp increase in per-capita spending, reaching 886,000 VND per month, doubling last year’s average spending level.
VNA
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