Vietnam will raise its minimum wage by 6% from July to help workers overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said. Vietnam, a major labor-intensive manufacturing hub for products such as apparel and footwear, reported GDP growth of 5.03% in the first quarter, up from 4.72% in the first quarter of last year, but down from 5.22% in the fourth quarter. [Vietnam plans to raise minimum wage by 6% from July - Nikkei]
Under the plan, pending approval from the prime minister, the minimum monthly wage would be raised to between 3.25 million dong and 4.68 million dong ($142.00-$204.47), the government said in a statement.
This would be the first minimum wage hike in two years in the Southeast Asian country, which is a regional manufacturing powerhouse with a population of 98 million, according to the statement.
"A proportion of laborers are facing difficulties due to the pandemic, and therefore an increase in the minimum salary at this time is needed to help them stabilize their life and stay with their employers," head of Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Ngo Duy Hieu, said in the statement.
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents businesses in the country, said firms would try to increase their productivity to help fund the wage hike, according to the statement.
