The 2025 plan for implementing the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants, issued on 22/7, assigns this responsibility to ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of organizations established by the government or the prime minister (but not public service units), and provincial and municipal People's Committees. Commune-level People's Committees must also complete the assignment of job positions and corresponding salary scales for commune-level civil servants recruited before the law takes effect, provided they meet the qualification and educational requirements.

The prime minister has tasked the Ministry of Home Affairs with drafting three decrees: regulations on evaluating and classifying civil servants (to be completed by 1/1/2026); regulations on civil servant job positions (to be completed in 2026); and regulations on standards for leadership and management positions in state administrative agencies (to be completed by 31/12/2025). Agencies are also required to regularly review and update data on cadres and civil servants under their management to synchronize with the national database.

Do Thanh Ha, a civil servant at the Hanoi Public Administrative Service Center, branch 3, guides citizens on using public services. Photo: Trong Dat

Do Thanh Ha, a civil servant at the Hanoi Public Administrative Service Center, branch 3, guides citizens on using public services. Photo: Trong Dat

Currently, civil servants are paid based on a coefficient multiplied by the base salary, which is 2.34 million VND per month since July 2024. Under this calculation, the lowest and highest monthly salaries for civil servants are approximately 3.1 million VND and 23.4 million VND, respectively, excluding allowances.

Resolution 27 of 2018 by the Central Committee aimed to implement a new salary regime from 1/7/2021, with the lowest salary for officials and public employees equal to the average lowest salary in the private sector. However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other unfavorable factors, the comprehensive salary reform roadmap had to be postponed.

The National Assembly later decided that officials and public employees would be paid based on job positions rather than a uniform coefficient system, starting from 1/7/2024. However, due to unforeseen issues and the need for careful, step-by-step research, the base salary and coefficient system could not be immediately abolished.

Instead of immediately implementing the new salary mechanism, the government proposed, and the National Assembly approved, a 30% increase in the base salary from 1.8 million VND to 2.34 million VND per month, starting in July 2024. This is considered a transitional step in the salary reform process. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated it would advise relevant authorities to accelerate the reform roadmap, aiming to link salaries to job positions and performance. The new salary policy will be benchmarked against private sector incomes for equivalent positions to ensure a decent living for civil servants, limit negativity and brain drain, and create a healthy competitive environment to attract talent.

Vu Tuan