Circular No. 09/2003/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the implementation of Decision No. 187/2002/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2002 of the Prime Minister on salary and allowances for officers and staff of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank.

CIRCULAR

Regarding guiding the implementation of Decision No. 187/2002/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2002 of the Prime Minister on salary and allowances for officers and employees of the Social Policy Bank

Implementing Decision No. 187/2002/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2002 of the Prime Minister, based on current State regulations on salaries, after considering the opinions of the Ministry of Finance in Circular No. 2008 TC/TCNH dated March 5, 2003, and the State Bank of Vietnam in Circular No. 195/NHNN-TCCB dated March 3, 2003, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guides the implementation of the salary and allowance system for officers and employees of the Social Policy Bank as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

The subjects to whom the salary and allowance system under Decision No. 187/2002/QD-TTg applies are officers and employees working at the Social Policy Bank, including: the Board of Directors; Central Management Office; Branch Trading Departments and Branch Trading Offices at all levels (referred to as Branches).

II. SALARY TRANSFER

1. For members of the Board of Directors: Salary is set according to the Administrative Salary Scale (01) issued with Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government and they shall enjoy position allowances or responsibility allowances as stipulated in Decision No. 83/1998/QD-TTg dated April 15, 1998 of the Prime Minister and Joint Circular No. 06/1998/TTLT-BTCCBCP-BLDTBXH-BTC dated October 20, 1998 of the Joint Office of the Government Organizational Cadres Bureau - Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Ministry of Finance.

Specifically, the Vice Chairman in charge of the Board of Directors shall have their salary and position leadership allowance set like that of the Chairman of a special-class enterprise.

2. For members of the Advisory Committee, the Board of Representatives at various levels of the Board of Directors, village-level cadres, and other individuals working for the Social Policy Bank shall enjoy remuneration and other benefits as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

3. For management staff of the Central Management Office of the Social Policy Bank:

a) The General Director and Deputy General Director shall be assigned salaries according to the management position salary scale of special-class enterprises. The transfer and assignment of salaries shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 15/LB-TT dated June 25, 1996 of the Joint Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Finance.

b) If the Chief Accountant (if the organizational structure of the Social Policy Bank includes this position) is appointed in accordance with Decree No. 26-HĐBT dated March 18, 1989 of the Council of Ministers on the issuance of the Charter of the Chief Accountant of State-owned Enterprises, then they shall be assigned a salary equivalent to that of a Deputy General Director of the Social Policy Bank.

4. For management staff of Branches:

a) The Branch Directors and Deputy Directors of provincial and city branches shall be assigned salaries according to the management position salary scale of enterprises issued with Decree No. 26/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government, based on the actual level achieved by each branch.

The ranking of branches regarding the transfer and assignment of salaries for branch managers (Directors, Deputy Directors) shall be implemented according to Circular No. 17/1998/TTLT-LDTBXH-BTC dated December 31, 1998 and Circular No. 10/2000/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated April 4, 2000 of the Joint Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Finance guiding the ranking of state-owned enterprises.

While waiting for the issuance of standards for ranking branches, it is requested that the Social Policy Bank urgently report on the production and business tasks and operational scale of branches so that the Joint Ministry can base its temporary agreement on ranking within two years from 2003 to 2004.

b) For management staff of district and county-level branches of the Social Policy Bank, they shall be assigned professional and technical salaries and enjoy position allowances as those for management staff of the Vietnam Agricultural and Rural Development Bank at the district and county level as stipulated in Circular No. 110/LDTBXH-TL dated January 13, 2003 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

In cases where management staff from other units are transferred and appointed to manage branches, when transferring and assigning salaries, if the combined coefficient of the current grade and step plus position allowance is higher than the highest coefficient of the temporarily ranked grade, they shall still be placed in the highest step of the new grade and enjoy the difference coefficient retained according to Circular No. 28/LB-TT dated December 2, 1993 and Circular No. 17/1998/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated December 31, 1998 of the Joint Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Finance.

Example 1: Mr. Nguyen Van C, currently Director of the Finance and Price Department of Province B, is currently assigned a Grade 7, Senior Specialist rank, with a salary coefficient of 5.03 and enjoying a position allowance of 0.7; his total current salary coefficient is 5.03 + 0.7 = 5.73. Now, Mr. C has been appointed as the Director of a Social Policy Bank Branch and is temporarily ranked as a Class II enterprise, he will be assigned to Step 2 (the highest step) with a salary coefficient of 5.26 and will enjoy a retention difference coefficient of 0.47 (5.73 - 5.26).

5. For professional and technical staff, administrative and service staff:

a) For those currently assigned salaries according to the professional and technical staff salary scale of enterprises or Scale B21 - Professional and Technical Staff Salary Scale of Commercial Banks and Gold, Silver, Gemstone Trading Enterprises issued with Decree No. 26/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government, there will be no reassignment of salaries.

b) For those currently assigned salaries according to other salary scales, they must be reassigned salaries according to the professional and technical staff salary scale of enterprises issued with Decree No. 26/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government, following the principle of being assigned salaries at the same rank as the job performed. When reassigning salaries, it is not allowed to combine with a promotion in rank. The reassignment of salaries shall be carried out as follows:

- In cases where the coefficient of the current salary step is equal to the coefficient of the corresponding new step, they will remain in the same step. The time for the next step promotion review will start from the date of the previous step assignment.

- In cases where the coefficient of the current salary step is greater than the coefficient of the corresponding new step:

+ If the time spent in the current step is two years (24 months) or more (for ranks with a three-year step promotion period) or one for a period of one year (twelve months) or more (for positions with a two-year salary increment period), they shall be classified into the next higher grade, and the time for the next salary increment review shall be calculated from the date of the new salary classification decision;

+ If the time spent at the previous grade is less than two years (for positions with a three-year salary increment period) or less than one year (for positions with a two-year salary increment period), they shall be classified into the corresponding new grade, until they have completed two years or one year as specified above, they will then be adjusted to the next higher grade, and the time for the next salary increment review shall be calculated from the date of adjustment to the next higher grade.

+ If the coefficient of the current salary level is higher than the coefficient of the highest grade of the new position, they shall be classified into the highest grade of that position and enjoy the retained differential coefficient.

Example 2: Ms. Tran Thi B, currently classified at Grade 4 with a coefficient of 4.19 under the Administrative Salary Scale (01) issued together with Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government, has spent two years at the previous grade (Grade 4 with a coefficient of 4.19). She now transfers to work at the Vietnam Social Policy Bank. The transfer of salary classification is as follows:

Grade 4 of the Administrative Salary Scale (01) has a coefficient of 4.19, while Grade 4 of the Specialist Position under the Salary Scale for Professional, Technical, Administrative, and Service Staff in Enterprises issued together with Decree No. 26/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government has a coefficient of 4.10 (4.19 > 4.10). Ms. B has spent two years at the previous grade (Grade 4 with a coefficient of 4.19), therefore she is transferred to Grade 5 with a coefficient of 4.38 under the Specialist Position. The time for the next salary increment review shall be calculated from the date of the new salary classification decision, with a coefficient of 4.38.

Example 3: Mr. Nguyen Van A, currently classified at Grade 9 with a coefficient of 3.81 under the Specialist Position under the Administrative Salary Scale (01) issued together with Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government, now transfers back to work at the Vietnam Social Policy Bank. The transfer of salary classification is as follows:

Transferred to the Specialist Position, Grade 8 (the highest grade), with a coefficient of 3.48 under the Salary Scale for Professional, Technical, Administrative, and Service Staff in Enterprises. Mr. A will enjoy the retained differential coefficient of: 0.33 (3.81 - 3.48 = 0.33).

c) Heads of Departments, Deputy Heads of Departments, and equivalent positions in the management bodies of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank at the central level shall receive position allowances as stipulated in Decision No. 185/TTg dated March 28, 1996 of the Prime Minister and Circular No. 15/LB-TT dated June 25, 1996 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs - Ministry of Finance.

d) Heads of Departments, Deputy Heads of Departments, and equivalent positions in Branches of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank at local levels shall receive position allowances according to their assigned ranks, including the time temporarily assigned to such ranks within the two-year period from 2002 to 2004.

6. The decision on salary classification for the aforementioned staff members of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank shall take effect from the date of issuance and they shall enjoy it from that date.

III. BASIC WAGE RATE:

1. The Vietnam Social Policy Bank shall apply the adjustment factor to increase the minimum wage rate to calculate the basic wage rate as prescribed in Clause b.2 and b.6, Point 1, Section III of Circular No. 05/2001/TT-BLDTBXH dated January 29, 2001 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding the establishment of basic wage rates and the management of wages and income in state-owned enterprises.

When applying the adjustment factor to increase the minimum wage rate to calculate the basic wage rate, the Vietnam Social Policy Bank must ensure the following conditions:

- Ensuring the safety of capital provided by the State;

- Completing the assigned plan targets;

- Not increasing the management fee as prescribed in the Financial Management Regulations of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank;

- The average wage growth rate must be lower than the average labor productivity growth rate.

2. In the first three years from 2003 to 2005, the wage fund of the Vietnam Social Policy Bank shall be determined based on the actual number of employees used annually multiplied by the actual average wage implemented in 2002 of the Vietnam Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, and reported to the Joint Ministries, on this basis, distribute the wage fund to member units and pay wages to staff linked to productivity, quality, and efficiency.

IV. MID-MEAL SYSTEM:

Staff working at the Vietnam Social Policy Bank shall apply the mid-meal system as prescribed in Circular No. 15/1999/TT-BLDTBXH dated June 22, 1999 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of the mid-meal system for workers and staff working in state-owned enterprises.

V. IMPLEMENTATION:

Based on the contents guided in this Circular and other relevant regulations of the State, the Vietnam Social Policy Bank shall be responsible for:

1. Implementing salary classification for staff as guided above and reporting to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

2. Establishing labor norms as a basis for determining the basic wage rate as guided in Circular No. 14/LDTBXH-TT dated April 10, 1997 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

3. Establishing standards for ranking branches as guided in Circular No. 17/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated December 31, 1998 and Circular No. 10/2000/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC dated April 4, 2000 of the Joint Ministries of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs - Finance, and propose the Joint Ministries to issue formal rankings for branches in 2005; Establishing standards for professional and technical staff as guided in Circular No. 04/1998/TT-BLDTBXH dated April 4, 1998 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs as a basis for promotion examinations for professional and technical staff; Establishing wage regulations as guided in Circular No. 4320/LDTBXH-TL dated December 31, 1998 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to ensure the principle of distribution according to labor, linking wages with productivity, quality, and efficiency of work.

4. Implementing labor, wage, and income reporting systems strictly in accordance with the regulations of the Government for state-owned enterprises.

5. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. The provisions of this Circular shall apply from January 1, 2003.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, the Vietnam Social Policy Bank is requested to report to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs for consideration and resolution.