The directive came from conclusions presented by Nguyen Duy Ngoc, head of the Central Organization Commission, at a national conference on 1/7. The Politburo and the Secretariat specifically tasked the Government Party Committee with collaborating with the Central Organization Commission and the Central Policy and Strategy Commission to research and develop the proposal.

A core component of the reform is the development of fair remuneration policies for grassroots officials. Concurrently, new mechanisms will be established to reward and recognize experts and highly skilled civil servants, aligning with existing regulations on positions, titles, and job roles. This salary policy reform seeks to incentivize officials and civil servants, fostering professional growth and encouraging long-term dedication within the public sector.

The current reform effort builds upon Resolution 27 of 2018, which initially aimed to introduce a unified salary system for all public sector personnel, including officials, civil servants, public employees, and the armed forces, starting from 1/7/2021. Under this resolution, the minimum public sector salary was intended to match the average lowest salary in the enterprise sector across different regions. However, the implementation timeline was delayed due to several factors, most notably the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Assembly subsequently approved a shift to salary payments based on job positions, replacing the previous salary coefficient system, effective 1/7/2024. Despite this, implementation faced challenges, preventing the complete abolition of basic salaries and salary coefficients. Consequently, the government proposed, and the National Assembly approved, an increase in the basic salary. This saw an initial rise from 1,8 million dong to 2,34 million dong on 1/7/2024, followed by another increase to 2,53 million dong from 1/7/2026. With these adjustments, the lowest monthly civil servant salary now stands at approximately 3,4 million dong, while the highest reaches 25,3 million dong. Public employees' salaries range from about 3,8 million to 20,2 million dong per month.

General Secretary and President To Lam; Prime Minister Le Minh Hung; National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man; Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu; Head of the Central Organization Commission Nguyen Duy Ngoc, presided over the conference on the morning of 1/7. *Photo: Giang Huy*

Rectifying the phenomenon of picking and choosing work locations and positions

Beyond salary reform, the Politburo and the Secretariat also directed agencies to promptly establish guidelines for developing two aggregate economic indicators at the commune level: total product value within the area and per capita income. These statistics are currently only compiled at the provincial and national levels.

To address human resource imbalances and unsuitable official placements following administrative mergers, agencies are mandated to investigate mechanisms for rotating officials among communes, wards, and between provincial and commune levels. This initiative also aims to decisively rectify the issue of officials "picking and choosing" their work locations and positions.

Furthermore, the Politburo and the Secretariat called for ongoing internal organizational streamlining, the issuance of new staffing norms, and enhanced decentralization and devolution of power. They also requested research into replicating Hanoi's two-tier local government model across other localities.

Vu Tuan