How much allowance are village chiefs and neighborhood group leaders receiving?

Mr. Trinh Duy Hien, Party Secretary of Residential Group 20, Phu Dien Ward (Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi), said that recently there was information spreading that the village chief and the head of the residential group received the highest allowance of up to more than 14 million VND/month. This surprised him quite a bit, because the allowance for this position in his residential group is currently much lower.

Mr. Hien informed that according to current regulations of Hanoi City, the allowance for non-professional staff in residential groups with more than 500 households is more than 5 million VND per month, while the allowance for residential groups with less than 500 households is nearly 5 million VND.

He himself is receiving an allowance of more than 9 million VND because he also holds the position of Head of the Front Committee of the residential group.

Ms. Le Thi Chuyen, Vice Chairwoman of Phu Dien Ward People's Committee, added that the ward has 20 residential groups, in which the Party cell secretaries and non-professional residential group leaders are paid monthly allowances from the State budget.

Specifically, the Party cell secretary who is also the head of the front work committee for a group with more than 500 households receives an allowance of more than 9.2 million VND/month, while the head of a residential group who does not hold the position of head only receives more than 5 million VND/month.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Thuy, Secretary and Head of Tho Nam Village, Te Thang Commune (Nong Cong, Thanh Hoa) said that with the allowance coefficient of 2.2 for concurrent positions, after the basic salary was adjusted from 1.8 million to 2.34 million VND from July 2024, his allowance will be more than 5.1 million, while previously it was only nearly 4 million. "Therefore, there is no such thing as an allowance paid to the village chief at more than 14 million VND," Mr. Thuy said.

Mr. Thuy said that his allowance has increased after Thanh Hoa province implemented the policy of having one person hold two positions. Previously, there were 6 positions for 6 people, but now there are only 2 people.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Son, Chief of Office of Nong Cong District Party Committee (Thanh Hoa) said that for part-time cadres (commune/town level, village/residential group level) according to the norms of the Provincial People's Council, the coefficient is from 1.2 to 1.4 (including allowances and activity fees).

"Previously, 5 people did 6 jobs so the allowance was very low. Now, 2 people do 4 jobs, so the village chief's salary will increase to about 5-6 million per month," Mr. Son explained.

Highest allowance of over 14 million for 3 positions

Regarding the information that village chiefs and neighborhood leaders can receive the highest salary of 14.04 million VND/month, Lawyer Diep Nang Binh, Head of Tinh Thong Luat Law Office, said that such information is incorrect.

"This highest level covers all three positions, not each individual," Mr. Binh emphasized.

Citing Article 34 of Decree 33/2023 of the Government regulating the allowance regime for part-time workers at the commune, village and residential group levels, Mr. Binh said that the central budget allocates an allowance fund to pay monthly for part-time workers in each village and residential group:

For villages with 350 households or more; residential groups with 500 households or more; villages and residential groups belonging to key commune-level administrative units with complicated security and order issues according to decisions of competent authorities; villages and residential groups belonging to commune-level administrative units in border and island areas are allocated an allowance fund equal to 6.0 times the basic salary.

In case a village with 350 or more households is converted into a residential group due to the establishment of a commune-level urban administrative unit, the allowance fund shall be kept at 6.0 times the basic salary.

For villages and residential groups not covered by the above regulations, the allowance fund is 4.5 times the basic salary (currently the basic salary is 2,340,000 VND/month).

From here, it can be calculated that according to regulations, for non-professional workers in villages and residential groups, the allowance fund is allocated at 6.0 times the basic salary, the monthly allowance will be 6 x 2.34 million VND/month = 14.04 million VND/month.

As for non-professional workers in villages and residential groups, the allowance fund is 4.5 times the basic salary, the monthly allowance is 4.5 x 2.34 million VND/month = 10.53 million VND/month.

"However, according to Clause 6, Article 33 of Decree 33, part-time workers in villages and residential groups with no more than 3 positions (including Party cell secretary, village or residential group head, head of the front work committee) are entitled to monthly allowances. Thus, the allowances of VND14.04 million/month and VND10.53 million/month are applied to no more than 3 positions," said Mr. Binh.

The lawyer also noted: This allowance level is not the allowance level of each position but will be divided among the positions.

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