Why can’t we pay the civil servants a competitive wage?

[ASEAN NOW News]

This week we reported that civil servants were leaving their jobs in droves, unable to make ends meet on their meager salaries, knowing their abilities can guarantee jobs with higher incomes elsewhere.

 

Handling anything from legislation to road transportation or inland revenue to childcare, all these vital services could be at risk and the Government should be realistic when creating a wage structure for their workers.

 

State workers at the People's Committee office of Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

 

The report quoted how Tran Cong Hoang, 32, despite his relatively senior position as a manager, had quit his job at a state agency in Ho Chi Minh City last year after six years.

 

After finishing college in 2012, Hoang was sent to Australia for a postgraduate course on a government scholarship with the condition that he must return to Vietnam and work for state agencies for at least five years after finishing it.

 

Hoang returned to Vietnam in 2016 and began working for a state department in the city for a salary of VND3 million ($130) per month.

 

Five years later his salary was increased to around VND5.5 million per month plus an allowance for managers.

 

The salary could not even cover the monthly expenses incurred for his newborn, Hoang said.

Hoang is among 2,188 employees who quit working at state agencies in HCMC last year, according to the municipal Home Affairs Department.

 

The figure was even higher in 2020 at 2,400. From 2017 until last year, the city had lost more than 2,000 state employees a year on average.

 

In most cases, they cited low income, an unattractive working environment, and the lack of opportunity for career development as the main reasons for quitting.

 

Despite their low salaries, state workers in HCMC wards and communes are given a lot of work, given the city’s high population.

 

On average, a civil servant in the city serves 346 residents compared to the national figure of 152. The average population of a district in HCMC is 239,000 higher than the national average.

 

Though the city has tried diverse ways to raise incomes for this group, their salaries have stayed around VND5-6 million per month, which makes it extremely hard to ask them to stay on and keep working, she said.

 

Huynh Thanh Nhan, director of HCMC’s Home Affairs, said state agencies have been facing "huge" challenges in attracting and retaining experienced and high-quality staff due to competition from the private sector.

 

Besides, working in state agencies requires employees to follow different rules and they have the pressure of being disciplined and warned, he added.

 

Hoang, who'd completed his master’s degree in Australia, found a job with a private corporation after quitting his city government job.

 

His basic salary is three times higher and there are months his income rises to more than VND30 million based on his performance.

 

"Leaving (a government job) was such a sound decision," he said.

 

These examples show that the government must act quickly otherwise Vietnam’s civil service will not be able to retain its staff.

 

The problems with nurses are similar.

 

Get a job in the private sector and double or even triple your monthly income.

 

So, what incentive will the government offer and how quickly???