The whole country is placing its trust in the decisions and determination of the entire political system to soon put policies into practice, helping to resolve bottlenecks and create momentum for socio-economic development, bringing prosperity to the people.

National Assembly deputies meet in the hall on June 24 to discuss salary reform. (Source: VNA)

1. One of the expected decisions is the salary reform policy, pension adjustment, social insurance (SI) benefits, preferential benefits for meritorious people and social benefits, affecting all employees in public administrative units and enterprises.

According to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW of the National Assembly, from July 1, 2024, the official basic salary will increase from VND 1.8 million/month to VND 2.34 million/month (an increase of 30%); adjust the regional minimum wage according to the provisions of the Labor Code (an average increase of 6%); regulate the salary mechanism for state-owned enterprises (applied from January 1, 2025).

However, lessons from previous salary adjustments show that salary increases always go hand in hand with price increases. Experts say that the Government needs to control market prices well, control essential goods such as electricity, water, gasoline, food, fight monopolies, and prevent unreasonable price increases to improve the quality of life for all people. For this policy to truly have a positive impact on workers, solutions to control abnormal price increases and fight inflation are needed.

It can be seen that in the past 20 years, we have adjusted the basic salary 14 times. In 2008, when the basic salary increased by 20%, inflation increased from 6.3 to 23%; in 2011, when the basic salary increased by 13.7%, inflation increased from 9.2 to 18.6%. From this reality, many National Assembly deputies have also recommended that the authorities pay attention to monetary policy, as well as widening the gap in price increases of other services.

If salaries are increased to fight inflation or only to ensure living standards, it will not encourage officials, civil servants and public employees. This is a very topical issue when looking at the figures of the General Statistics Office, in the first 6 months of the year, the average price index of food and catering services increased by 4% over the same period last year; the price index of housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials increased by 5.51% over the same period last year; the price index of household electricity increased by 9.45%; the price index of education increased by 8.58% because in the 2023-2024 school year, some localities increased tuition fees; the price index of medicine and medical services increased by 7.07%...

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang explains the issue that delegates are concerned about regarding the implementation of 3 National Target Programs, June 7, 2023. (Source: Quochoi.vn)

2. Unblocking the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2030 period. Once a humane policy, it was expected to fundamentally change the quality of life of millions of ethnic minorities, gradually narrowing the gap in living standards and average income of the region compared to the national average; gradually reducing the number of particularly difficult communes and villages, but in reality, the implementation process has encountered many bottlenecks, obstacles, and slow progress.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang frankly admitted this shortcoming during the National Assembly's question-and-answer session on ethnic affairs a year ago (June 7, 2023), when the National Target Programs were listed as behind schedule and had no way out due to the integration of many programs, leading to overlap, conflict, fragmentation, and dispersion.

The National Assembly agreed to adjust some contents related to investment policies to help overcome difficulties and obstacles arising from practice, not to generate capital, not to increase the total investment and capital structure approved by the National Assembly, in accordance with the needs and practical situation of localities, creating a basis to break the deadlock of the Program. The ultimate goal of the decision is nothing other than to speed up the disbursement progress and the implementation results of the program so that people can soon enjoy the meaningful and humane policies of the Party and State...

Minister and Chairman of the Ethnic Committee Hau A Lenh said that the approved adjusted Program will have positive impacts on the socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas, contributing to overcoming current difficulties and obstacles, creating conditions for disbursement in accordance with regulations on capital sources of projects and sub-projects decided by the National Assembly, allocating capital to subjects with a total estimated cost of about 4,142,805 billion VND.

National Assembly deputies voted to pass the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Land Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law and Credit Institutions Law... (Source: Quochoi.vn)

3. Facilitating the early implementation of the Law is a bright spot noted at this session. With the passage of 11 laws related to the immediate interests of individuals in society, to the operations of businesses as well as the entire economy, which have been of interest and followed by the people of the whole country, such as: Law on Social Insurance; Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Land Law; Law on Housing; Law on Real Estate Business; Law on Roads; Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety; Law on the Capital; Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Property Auction; Law on Credit Institutions..., along with that, draft Decrees, Decisions, Circulars have been prepared to speed up the implementation of the Law. The revised project on the Land Law, the Law on Real Estate Business, the Law on Housing, and the Law on Credit Institutions has been pushed forward to take effect from August 1, 2024 instead of January 1, 2025.

This is the first time the National Assembly has considered the Government's proposal to advance the deadline for a draft law. Of the 11 laws passed by the National Assembly, most demonstrate the promotion of decentralization and delegation of power, and the promotion of dynamism and creativity of localities.

At the end of the session, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also continued to emphasize the requirement that "the law be implemented fairly, strictly, consistently, promptly, effectively and efficiently".

The National Assembly requests the Government, agencies of the National Assembly, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the State Audit, relevant agencies and organizations to focus on directing, thoroughly grasping, and promptly and effectively implementing the laws and resolutions just passed by the 7th Session, meeting the requirements and tasks of socio-economic development, ensuring national defense, security, and foreign affairs of the country; promptly and effectively implementing social security policies, caring for the material and spiritual lives of policy families, workers, people in difficult circumstances, and all people; meeting the expectations of voters and people nationwide, and our compatriots abroad.

Accordingly, it will help solve bottlenecks and meet emerging realities in various fields, especially creating great momentum for socio-economic development, bringing prosperity to the people.

In any stage of development, the human factor is always the core. The spirit of innovation, encouragement, and protection of dynamic, creative, daring, and responsible cadres for the common good is spreading; along with the Party's political determination in the work of building and rectifying the Party and the political system, fighting against corruption and negativity, and improving the revolutionary ethical standards of cadres and party members in the new period will create the driving force and momentum for the country's development in the new stage of development.