In a document replying to a National Assembly deputy’s question about this issue, the PM acknowledged the increasing resignations among civil servants and public employees, especially in health and education establishments, and their transfer from the public to the private sector over the last three years.

He shared the legislator’s view that blamed this fact on certain objective and subjective reasons, including modest benefits and wages in the public sector compared to workers’ needs.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has highlighted the moves taken by the Government in response to a recent wave of resignations among public sector workers.

The Government has ordered ministries, sectors, and localities to grasp the situation and take concerted solutions, including overhauling mechanisms and policies to attracting, treating and utilising civil servants and public employees; reforming the wage policy in line with the set roadmap; clarifying each agency leader’s responsibility towards managing, using, training, and rewarding personnel; devising policies for discovering and training capable cadres for leadership and management positions; creating conditions for civil servants and public employees to study and improve their capacity at home and abroad; and creating a fair, democratic, friendly, united, professional, and modern working environment, according to PM Chinh.

He pointed out that due to various factors, especially impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reforms of the wage policy for cadres, civil servants, public employees, and personnel of armed forces need to be considered and carried out in a prudent manner and an appropriate roadmap to achieve the consistent target of stabilising the macro-economy and controlling inflation while gradually improving public sector workers’ living standards.

At the sixth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee in early October, the Party delegation to the Government reported to the Party Central Committee a draft plan to raise the monthly base salary by 20.8% to 1.8 million VND (72.5 USD), from 1.49 million VND, for cadres, civil servants, public employees, and personnel of armed forces in 2023, and to align pensions, social insurance benefits, and allowances for nation contributors with the wage hike.

The Government has finalised the dossier on the adjustments, which will be submitted to the NA at the ongoing fourth session, the PM said, adding that it has also requested relevant ministries and agencies to continue fine-tuning details of the new wage policy to be submitted for consideration.