According to the Resolution of the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly passed on June 29, the basic salary will be adjusted to increase from VND 1.8 million/month to VND 2.34 million/month, an increase of 30%, from July 1, 2024. This is the highest increase ever.

From 2009 to July 1, 2024, the basic salary increased by about 280%, the regional minimum wage increased by about 480%, while the consumer price index increased by about 108%.

Thus, after 15 years, the wage growth rate is much higher than the consumer price index growth rate. This shows that the Government always aims for the salary to be the main source of income to ensure the life of workers and their families, creating motivation to improve labor productivity.

Increasing wages contributes to improving people's lives, contributing to economic growth, increasing people's purchasing power, when supply and demand change, it will affect prices.

However, many people are concerned about the impact of the salary reform from July 1 on inflation, and are worried that goods will "follow the rain".

Reality has shown that for many years now, when wages increase, prices also increase, and market prices even increase before the wage increase policy takes effect.

In fact, for many years now, the normal reaction of the market is that when wages increase, prices also increase. Market prices even increase before the wage increase policy takes effect, and after the wage increase, prices continue to be adjusted to increase again.

The situation of prices increasing according to wages often focuses on essential consumer goods and at stages and times when the distribution system is still thin, the supply of goods of enterprises is limited, easily broken, the ability to regulate and intervene in the market is weak, so there is speculation and price increases...

Economists say that if speculative psychology is excluded, wage increases are not the main and direct cause of increased inflation. However, this time the basic wage increase is at a high level, so it cannot be ruled out that many people are taking advantage of this policy to push up prices of goods and services.

To ensure the significance of the wage increase and market stabilization policy, on June 22, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed and issued Official Dispatch No. 61 to Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Government agencies; Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities on strengthening price management and control measures.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Health, Education and Training, and Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, according to their assigned functions and tasks, to urgently review, report, and propose a specific roadmap with the level and expected time of price adjustment of goods and services under their management.

The Prime Minister also assigned the Ministry of Finance to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State Bank of Vietnam, the General Statistics Office, relevant agencies and localities to promote the implementation of the work of synthesizing, analyzing, forecasting market prices, updating detailed, specific and timely price management scenarios for the remaining months of the year to advise the Government and the Prime Minister on appropriate and timely measures; ensuring the target of controlling inflation in 2024 within the limit of 4-4.5% in accordance with the Resolution of the National Assembly in all situations, striving for about 4%.

Along with price control, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities not to allow shortages or disruptions in supply that cause sudden price increases such as: for gasoline, food, construction materials, etc.

In response to public concerns about the "follow the flow" phenomenon when wages increase, Ms. Nguyen Thu Oanh - Director of the Price Statistics Department (General Statistics Office) commented that this time the "follow the flow" phenomenon may still occur but will not cause sudden price increases or inflation.

However, according to Ms. Oanh, we should not be subjective about this phenomenon, but the authorities need to strengthen the implementation and supervision of price declaration, price posting, and price information disclosure measures. Organize inspections and checks on compliance with price laws and strictly handle violations.

"I think this is an important solution when prices are public and transparent, which will avoid unreasonable price increases," Ms. Oanh emphasized.

In particular, according to Ms. Oanh, it is necessary to call on businesses to participate in the market stabilization program, especially large-scale businesses, reputable brands, high market share and the hub of supply chains. Encourage shopping malls and supermarkets to organize product promotions to stimulate consumption at the same time as wages increase.

In addition, it is necessary to avoid adjusting prices of state-managed services such as healthcare services, education services, and household electricity at the same time as the salary increase on July 1, 2024, which can easily cause expected inflation, causing prices of other goods and services to increase accordingly.

The need for ministries, branches and localities to fully prepare essential consumer goods such as food and foodstuffs to ensure timely response to people's needs also needs to be taken into consideration.

Thu An