INCREASING REGION-BASED MINIMUM ON 01 JANUARY 2019

Decree No. 157/2018/ND-CP dated November 16, 2018 of the Government providing for region-based minimum wages applied to employees working under labor contracts

Article 1. Scope of adjustment

This Decree provides regulations on region-based minimum wages applied to employees who work under labor contracts as prescribed in the Labor Code.

Article 2. Subjects of application   

1. Employees who work under terms and provisions of labor contracts as prescribed in the Labor Code.

2. Enterprises duly established, organized and operating under the Law on Enterprises.

3. Vietnamese cooperatives, cooperative unions, artels, farms, households, individuals and other organizations that hire employees working under labor contracts.

4. Foreign organizations, foreign authorities, international organizations and foreigners that live/operate within the territory of Vietnam and hire employees under labor contracts (unless otherwise stipulated in international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory).

The entities mentioned in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article hereinafter referred to as “enterprises”.

Article 3. Region-based minimum wages

1. Region-based minimum wage levels applicable to employees working in enterprises are specified as follows:

a) For enterprises located in region I: VND 4,180,000/month;

b) For enterprises located in region II: VND 3,710,000/month;

c) For enterprises located in region III: VND 3,250,000/month;

d) For enterprises located in region IV: VND 2,920,000/month.

2. The subregions referred to in this document are district-level administrative divisions. The list of the region I, region II, region III and region IV is provided in the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Article 4. Principles for application of region-based minimum wages

1. Enterprise located in a specific subregion shall apply the respective minimum wage applied thereto.  In the event that affiliates and/or branches of the same enterprise located in different subregions to which different region-based minimum wages apply, they must apply the respective minimum wages applied thereto.

2. If an enterprise is located in the industrial park or the export processing zone located in the territory containing two or more subregions to which different region-based minimum wages apply, the highest region-based minimum wage shall apply.

3. If an enterprise is located in the subregion which is renamed or divided, the region-based minimum wage applied to that subregion before it is renamed or divided shall still apply until regulations promulgated by the Government come into force.

4. If an enterprise is located in the subregion which is converted from a district to which a different region-based minimum wage applies or established by the merger of two or more subregions to which different region-based minimum wages apply, it shall apply the highest region-based minimum wage. In case an enterprise is located in a provincial city which is established from one or more subregions in the region IV, it shall apply the region-based minimum wage applied to the remaining provincial cities of the region III as provided in Section 3 of the Appendix enclosed herewith.

Best regards./.