Low wages, school staff speak from the heart

Many Thanh Nien readers who are school staff sent heartfelt messages below the newspaper's articles on the topic 'Low salaries, school staff hope to overcome difficulties'.

New Reader account shared: "I have worked for 30 years as an office worker, the minimum salary is 2.34, but I get 9,330,000, which is too low, while teachers who have worked for 10 years already get more than 10 million. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education proposed to the Ministry of Home Affairs from the end of 2023 to provide a 25% public service allowance for school staff. It has been a year now, but there has been no movement. I respectfully hope that the ministries and branches will soon resolve some of the difficulties for school staff. Thank you very much."

Doctor Huynh Trung Tuan, a school health worker in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City, joined the front line of the fight against the epidemic during the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City, ensuring the health of parents, students and the community.

An anonymous reader confided: "Thank you author. The article is really true to reality. Obviously, we are one of the forces directly participating in the fight against the epidemic, with a full sense of responsibility. But when we receive benefits, we feel abandoned. Sad. School health staff allowances are not available in many places. Because there is a phrase "the head of the unit, based on the school's revenue, does not spend more than 20% of the allowance...".

Salary is not enough to support oneself, how can one support parents and children?

A reader who is a school librarian confided: "Librarians only receive a 0.2 toxic allowance, but it is cut during the 3 summer months. The salary is too low to cover daily living expenses, so getting married and having children is still too far away. I sincerely hope that ministries and branches pay more attention to the regime of school staff because every job position is important."

A school nurse gives first aid to a student's wound.

The account named "New Reader" introduced himself as a clerical worker for 14 years, with a salary coefficient of only 2.86 x the current base salary of 2,340,000 VND, while he still had to support 2 children going to school. The reader also said that he worked as a clerical worker in Tinh Bien town. Giang has not yet been considered for a promotion, is still confused about the employee benefits, and is having a hard time living on his salary.

"Library and equipment staff also receive a 0.2 toxic allowance. Clerical staff receive nothing. If they are assigned to concurrently work as school council secretary, if they are teachers, they will have 2 periods/week reduced, but if they are concurrently working as clerical staff, they will receive nothing. They are left with only a small salary. While I am still studying for a university degree, I hope that my salary will be higher when I have a university degree, but the worry of making a living and studying is really difficult for employees like me. However, those who have gone before me and already have a university degree are not considered for promotion, so they still receive a salary based on the intermediate coefficient, so their income will never improve...", the account "New Reader" said with all their heart.

Many schools have to sign labor contracts to have enough school staff to handle school work.

I hope each locality and unit will proactively have special policies to support school staff.

In addition to heartfelt words about low salaries and precarious lives due to little or no allowances, the team of teachers and school staff sent their opinions and proposed solutions to overcome difficulties for the school staff. Especially the team that is not yet civil servants but is still under labor contracts.

Talking to Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters, the principal of an elementary school in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City presented his unit's solution: "Based on the actual situation at the unit, the needs of service types as well as the specific work of each position, when the school builds a plan for revenue collection and expenditure of service revenue sources at the unit, it will assign a number of appropriate jobs to increase the total monthly income for the school's staff, equivalent to about 1,400,000 VND to 4,400,000 VND/person/month depending on the quantity and nature of the assigned work."

"Currently, according to regulations, school health workers are entitled to a maximum of 20% of the job allowance (the unit head considers and decides based on the specifics of the job and revenue sources). Therefore, when my unit builds the revenue and expenditure budget for service revenue sources at the unit, it assigns and pays 20% of the preferential allowance to health workers, paid for 9 months of the school year, equivalent to 20% of the current salary coefficient of about 1,712,000 VND/person/month," said the principal of an elementary school in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City.

The principal of a primary school in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City also said that in order to have enough school staff to handle school work, the school must sign labor contracts, especially with nannies and security guards... The salary of these contract employees, after deducting insurance, is only about 5 million VND, how can it be enough for them to live and raise children, not to mention that many people still have to rent a house... To overcome difficulties for the team of contract school staff, the school has built an internal spending regulation, on holidays, New Year's Day, Lunar New Year... there is a part to share and encourage this team.

A nanny, a contract employee at a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City, during lunch time for boarding students on Open Day, the school welcomes parents to eat with their children.

At the same time, creating conditions for school staff to have additional income, based on the specific job position, based on the school program plan, revenue and expenditure plan of service revenue sources at the unit, the school will also assign a number of jobs suitable for the staff, so that they have an additional monthly income.

A school health worker (labor contract) at a secondary school in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, said that in addition to being in charge of health workers, she was also assigned by the school board to support boarding students, support the school cafeteria, and assist with some tasks such as managing students, watering plants, and maintaining electricity... Therefore, each month, in addition to her labor contract salary of VND 4,922,500, she is paid an additional VND 2,900,000. However, her total income at school is only about VND 8 million/month. To have more money to raise 2 children, she has to work as a cleaning lady in the evenings (paid VND 4 million/month).

As Thanh Nien Newspaper has reported, as civil servants in the education and training sector but not teachers, many school staff do not receive preferential allowances, seniority allowances, etc., so their salaries are low and their lives are very difficult.

Ho Chi Minh City has some special incentives such as Resolution 08 on additional income for civil servants and public employees, but in other provinces and cities, there is no such money, so school staff's lives are very difficult.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/luong-thap-nhan-vien-truong-hoc-noi-loi-tam-can-185250107080632724.htm