Vietnamese president gets US$240 monthly salary
HANOI - Despite a recent pay rise, President Tran Duc Luong's salary is only 3.77 million dong (US$240; euro183) a month, a state-controlled newspaper reported Tuesday. Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, the most powerful man in the country, is paid the same as the president, while Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An are paid 152,000 dong (US$10; euro7.60) less, Thanh Nien (Young Newspaper) said. It was the first time the salaries of Vietnam's leaders have been revealed to the public.
The newspaper also reported that elite politburo members are paid 3.393 million dong (US$216; euro165), while ministers earn from 2.813 million dong to 2.987 million dong (US$180 to US$190; euro137 to euro145) a month. Four-star generals earn 3.016 million dong (US$192; euro146), it said.
An official from the labor ministry said the government increased the monthly salary for civil servants by an average of 31.5 percent effective from Oct. 1 last year to offset Vietnam's 9.5 percent inflation rate. Vietnam's minimum monthly salary is 290,000 dong (US$18; euro13.74). Despite robust economic growth of more than 7 percent in recent years, Vietnam remains one of the poorest countries in the world with GDP per capita of about US$550 (euro 420).
The Associated Press - January 11, 2005
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