JOINT CIRCULAR No. 11/LBTT GUIDING THE INCREASE OF SALARY GRADE FOR 1993 FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND STAFF WHO ARE PAID ACCORDING TO THE DECREES NO. 25-CP DATED MAY 23, 1993 OF THE GOVERNMENT

CIRCULAR OF THE JOINT MINISTRIES

LABOR - SOCIAL WELFARE - CIVIL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND STAFF - FINANCE

GUIDELINES ON THE SYSTEM FOR INCREASING PAY GRADES IN 1993

FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SERVANTS WHOSE SALARIES ARE DETERMINED BY DECREE NO. 25/CP OF MARCH 25, 1995 ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993 issued by the Government; the Prime Minister's conclusion at Notification No. 264/TB dated October 29, 1993 issued by the Government Office on the resolution of urgent issues related to the implementation of the new salary system and Circular No. 1229-KTTH dated March 14, 1994 issued by the Government Office on the system for increasing pay grades in 1993; after exchanging opinions with the Central Party Organization Committee, relevant ministries and sectors, and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. The Joint Ministries of Labor - Social Welfare - Civil Service Organization and Staff - Finance hereby provide guidelines for implementing the system for increasing pay grades in 1993 for public officials and civil servants whose salaries are determined by Decree No. 25-CP dated May 23, 1993 issued by the Government as follows.

I. SCOPE AND OBJECTS

1. Scope and Object of Application of the System for Increasing Pay Grades:

Public officials and civil servants who have been transferred to the new salary scale (including those who were combined according to Model No. 2b as guided by the Joint Circular No. 10-LB/TT) under the salary grades specified in Resolution No. 35-NQ/UBTVQHK9 dated May 17, 1993 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, Decision No. 69-QD/TW dated May 17, 1993 of the Politburo, and Decree No. 25-CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government temporarily regulating the new salary system for public officials and civil servants in administrative and public service sectors, including:

- Public officials and civil servants officially recruited and currently working in state management agencies from central to district levels, state public service organizations, including those who are studying, training, working, or undergoing treatment both domestically and abroad;

- Cadres, workers, and staff working in Party and mass organizations;

- Public officials and civil servants assigned to work in communes or wards;

- Public officials and civil servants seconded or assigned to work in associations, projects, and international organizations based in Vietnam.

2. Objects Not Subject to the System for Increasing Pay Grades:

- Those holding elected positions in state agencies, the Party, and mass organizations;

- Those not transferred to the new salary scale;

- Those working under long-term contracts but not within the authorized staffing quota;

- Those working under short-term contracts;

- Those who have received termination notices;

- Those on leave pending reassignment;

- Those suspended from duty or under disciplinary action without being reassigned;

- Those detained.

3. Workers and civil servants in the administrative and public service sectors (including Party and mass organizations) who have been transferred to the new salary scale according to the salary scales stipulated in Decree No. 26-CP dated May 23, 1993 issued by the Government shall implement the system for increasing pay grades as guided by the circular on the system for increasing pay grades for workers and civil servants in enterprises.

II. CONDITIONS AND CRITERIA FOR INCREASING PAY GRADES

1. Duration Conditions:

a) Public officials and civil servants as specified in point 1, section I above, as of December 31, 1993, if they have held their previous grade (salary grade according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT dated September 18, 1985 for transferring to the new salary scale) for the following durations, they will be eligible for consideration for an increase in pay grade:

- Two years (24 months) or more for public officials and civil servants in grades with initial salary coefficient (grade 1) lower than 1.78.

- Three years (36 months) or more for public officials and civil servants in grades with initial salary coefficient (grade 1) equal to or higher than 1.78.

Senior experts will only have their pay grades increased upon decision by the Politburo or the Prime Minister, and will not follow the seniority-based system for increasing pay grades.

b) If public officials and civil servants have held their previous grade longer than the two or three-year periods specified in point a above, when they are promoted, they only need to meet the duration requirement of two or three years (24 months or 36 months), and the remaining excess time will be carried over to the next promotion.

Example: A chief nurse, with a salary level of 272 dong (according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT) since June 1, 1991, was transferred to the new salary scale in the chief nurse grade (code 16.121), grade 2, coefficient 1.69. By December 31, 1993, this nurse has met the duration requirement, reached the standard, and is eligible for promotion to grade 3, coefficient 1.81. Compared to the two-year (24-month) duration requirement for promotion, there is a six-month surplus which means that the next promotion period starts from June 1, 1993.

c) From September 1985 to December 1993, if public officials and civil servants have been promoted and the average number of promotions per year is less than three years per grade (excluding cases due to promotion), then even if they meet the duration requirements and standards for the current grade, they must extend the duration for promotion by one additional year (12 months) compared to the regulations, and this extra year cannot be counted as surplus time for the next promotion as stipulated in sub-point b above.

Example: An officer with a salary of 425 dong (according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT) in November 1985 was promoted to Deputy Department Head with a salary of 474 dong. In October 1989, he was promoted to grade 2 with a salary of 513 dong, and in December 1990, he was promoted again to grade 3 with a salary of 555 dong (which violated the State regulations). With two promotions over a period of 61 months (from November 1985 to December 1990), the average duration per promotion is 2.54 years per grade. Therefore, he does not qualify for promotion this time.

d) Public officials and civil servants disciplined (by administrative, Party, or mass organization) at the level of reprimand or higher will have their promotion duration extended by one additional year (12 months). Time spent serving a court sentence, even if it is a suspended sentence of less than one year, will not be counted towards the promotion duration.

Example: An official specialist was assigned a salary level of 425 dong (according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT) from October 1990. In August 1992, they were disciplined with a warning. After the new salary adjustment, they were moved down to the specialist rank, assigned grade 7 with a factor of 3.31. For this new promotion, considering until December 31, 1993, they had 38 months but subtracting one year (12 months) due to disciplinary action, the time for promotion consideration only amounted to 26 months, which did not meet the three-year (36-month) requirement stipulated for the specialist rank, thus they were not eligible for a salary grade increase.

e) Civil servants and officials who enjoyed seniority allowances exceeding the framework before the new salary adjustment shall have the time point for calculating the time to consider promotion as follows:

Example 1: A Deputy Director of Category II Department, in February 1988 received a salary level of 493 dong (according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT), and in February 1991 began receiving a seniority allowance exceeding the framework at 5%, and in February 1993 received a seniority allowance exceeding the framework at 7%. During the transition from old salary to new salary, they were reassigned to the Specialist Chief rank (code 01.002) grade 4, factor 4.19. The time for promotion calculation starts from February 1991, corresponding to the time when the seniority allowance exceeding the framework at 5% was received.

Example 2: A car driver in the agency received a salary level of 350 dong (according to Decree No. 235-HĐBT) and in October 1992 received a seniority allowance exceeding the framework at 8%. When transitioning from old salary to new salary, they were reassigned to the Car Driver rank (code 01.010), grade 10, factor 2.69. The time for promotion calculation starts from October 1991, corresponding to the time when the seniority allowance exceeding the framework at 7% was received.

f) Civil servants and officials who, prior to the new salary adjustment, were assigned a salary higher than the prescribed salary under Decree No. 235-HĐBT, when transitioning to the new salary were brought back within the salary framework and converted to seniority allowances to be reassigned to the corresponding salary grade, the time point for calculating the time to consider promotion shall be applied according to the provisions set out in paragraph e above. In cases where civil servants and officials hold leadership positions and during the salary adjustment were reassigned to a lower grade by one grade or more compared to civil servants and officials with equivalent salary levels and professional qualifications, the time point for calculating the time for new salary grade promotion shall be based on the time when the old salary was used for the adjustment.

Example: Official A and Official B both have a university degree. After working for some time, Official A was promoted to Head of Division in a Category I Department and then in November 1990 was reassigned to a salary level of 505 dong beyond the framework. Official B, following their professional qualification, was reassigned to a salary level of 505 dong in December 1992 according to the regulations. According to Circular No. 10-LB/TT dated June 2, 1993, Official A can only be reassigned to the Specialist Chief rank, factor 4.19 (code 01.002), while Official B can be reassigned to factor 4.47 in the same rank. Therefore, Official A, having the same old salary but being reassigned to a lower grade by one grade compared to Official B, according to paragraph f above, the time point for calculating the time to consider promotion for Official A is from November 1990.

In cases where civil servants and officials holding leadership positions during the salary adjustment were reassigned to a higher salary level than the framework prescribed in Decree No. 235-HĐBT to transition to the new salary, the time point for calculating the time for new salary grade promotion shall start from January 1, 1993.

2. Promotion criteria:

Civil servants and officials must meet the time conditions stipulated above and be evaluated and meet the following two criteria throughout the period of holding the previous grade to be eligible for promotion:

- Completing the required quantity of work assigned and meeting the quality and time requirements.

- Not violating labor discipline, internal rules, regulations of the agency or unit, and not violating laws related to their job and professional ethics to the extent of receiving a reprimand or punishment by the court.

Agencies and units may specify these two criteria to accurately assess civil servants and officials and ensure the quality of salary grade promotions.

III. METHOD OF ASSIGNING SALARY FACTORS WHEN PROMOTED

A. Principles

1. Civil servants and officials can only be promoted within the salary grade they are currently assigned if that grade still has available grades.

2. Civil servants and officials who do not meet the time conditions or do not meet the criteria will not be promoted.

B. Method of assigning salary factors when promoted.

1. General provisions:

When civil servants and officials are promoted, they are assigned to the next consecutive grade according to the salary table specified in Decree No. 25-CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government.

Example: A specialist (code 01.003), grade 4, with a salary factor of 2.58; meeting the stipulated time conditions and criteria, they are promoted to grade 5 (the next consecutive grade), with a factor of 2.82.

2. Special cases:

When implementing the transition from old salary to new salary according to the conversion table specified in Circular No. 10-LB/TT dated June 2, 1993 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Organizational Staff - Government Cadres - Finance and Circular No. 26-LĐTBXH/TT dated September 13, 1993 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, each salary grade has several new grades without corresponding old salary levels (called empty grades). Therefore, when implementing new salary promotions, if civil servants and officials (excluding those permitted to adjust one grade higher than the general salary conversion rule) meet the promotion criteria and have the following conditions, they can be assigned to the grade immediately after the empty grade or the second empty grade if there are two consecutive empty grades, specifically:

Civil servants and officials have held the current grade (currently enjoying) for more than one year longer than the stipulated time condition: for grades requiring two years, they must have held the grade for at least three years (36 months), for grades requiring three years, they must have held the grade for at least four years (48 months), and the previous salary grade promotion process (excluding promotions due to advancement) of the civil servant or official must comply with the stipulated time by the state, while ensuring reasonable salary relationships within the agency or unit.

When being promoted according to this special case, the time for calculating the next promotion level will be counted from January 1, 1994 (meaning that the remaining difference period will not be considered as mentioned in Section II, Point 1, Clause b above).

Example 1: A main specialist classified at salary grade 01.002, level 1 with a salary coefficient of 3.35. By December 1993, the civil servant had held the previous level for 50 months (the promotion cycle for the grade is 36 months), met the criteria for promotion, and had a previous promotion process in accordance with state regulations (at least 3 years per level) ensuring reasonable internal wage relations, then they would be promoted to level 3 with a salary coefficient of 3.91 (skipping the blank space at level 2 with a coefficient of 3.63).

Example 2: A high school teacher classified at grade 15.112, level 3 with a current salary coefficient of 3.51 (already adjusted according to regulations). By December 1993, the teacher had held the level for 48 months (the promotion cycle for the grade is 36 months), ensured reasonable internal wage relations, and had a previous promotion process in accordance with state regulations (at least 3 years per level), then they would be considered for promotion to level 5 with a salary coefficient of 3.95 (skipping the first blank space at level 4 with a coefficient of 3.73).

Ministries, sectors, localities, agencies, and units shall not turn the handling of special cases into widespread practice.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 1994.

2. The head of the agency or unit shall establish a Promotion Level Council including unit leadership, party committee, trade union, and other members decided by the head of the agency or unit. The Promotion Level Council assists the head of the agency or unit in reviewing and examining the promotion levels. The head of the agency or unit is responsible for proposing promotions according to the分级管理权限。

3. Civil servants and officials who are promoted will enjoy the new salary level from January 1, 1994. In the Decision, it must clearly note the number of remaining months of difference to be transferred to the next promotion level (if applicable).

4. The issuance of decisions on promotion levels shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 645-TC/TW dated December 13, 1993, of the Central Organization Department; and Circular No. 498-CB/TCCP dated October 19, 1993, of the Central Organization - Civil Service Department regarding the temporary delegation of authority to decide salaries for civil servants and officials.

5. Heads of agencies and units who implement the promotion level system incorrectly according to state regulations must compensate for the salary paid to civil servants and officials due to incorrect promotions and bear administrative disciplinary actions depending on the severity of the violation, while immediately revoking the incorrect decisions made for civil servants and officials.

6. Ministries, sectors, provinces, and centrally-administered cities shall review and approve the list of civil servants and officials eligible for promotion in 1993 compiled by their units and aggregate the additional salary fund requirements due to promotions for units assigned personnel quotas and salary funds from the state budget, and submit them to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, the Central Organization - Civil Service Department, and the Ministry of Finance for supplementation of the additional salary fund before implementation.

The implementation of the 1993 promotion level system must be completed by May 31, 1994.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, ministries, sectors, and localities are requested to report them for joint consideration and resolution by relevant departments.