Higher wages are needed to attract and retain employees working for the public sector in Vietnam who are lagging way behind their peers in many Southeast Asian countries in terms of income.

Most high-achieving university graduates prefer working for foreign-invested enterprises which are willing to pay thousands of dollars a month compared to state agencies that receive several millions of VND

There is a worrying fact that a large number of young skillful adults prefer working for foreign companies to positions in the public sector thanks to attractive benefits that the former offer.

Vietnam has an abundance of talented individuals, but these talents are not being utilised effectively.

HCM City has issued a Resolution on the income level of experts and scientists for the fields the city needs to attract talents in the 2018-2022 period.

The city’s Vice Chair Vo Van Hoan has signed a decision on organizing exams to select leaders and managerial officers for local public agencies.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) suggested improvements must be made in the working environment regarding professionalism, modernity, competition, and opportunities for professional development.

Reforming wage policy for civil servants and public employees is one of the solutions to stop the brain drain from the public to the private sector.

After nearly ten years with many policy changes, up to now, the attraction of experts, scientists, and people with special talents to work in the public sector is still a problem that Ho Chi Minh City has not yet had a good solution for it.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Ninh, Head of the Cadres and Civil Servants Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that the Department has developed a strategic project to attract talents and submit it to Ministry's leaders for consideration.

Carrying out wage reform is one of the urgent solutions National Assembly Deputy Ta Thi Yen has proposed to retain staff amid the mass departure of state officers for the private sector.

In the last two years, more than eight state officers in HCM City resigned each day, which was unprecedented in the city where many benefits are offered to civil servants and public employees.

Many public employees have recently quit their jobs and taken a job in the private sector. This indicates that the public sector is not attractive and that many problems need to be addressed.

Several family members in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lak were recently hospitalised in critical condition after suspectedly eating a python and drinking wine mixed with its blood.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Moves to downsize the public sector is a move that deserves attention, labour expert Dr Nguyen Huu Dung tells the Khoa hoc and Doi song (Science and Life) newspaper.