Vietnam military generals get a pay raise

By Viet Tuan July 4, 2018 | 10:33 pm PT

Soldiers of Vietnamese army force march in a parade in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters

The monthly salary of generals has gone up VND1 million ($43) to nearly VND14.5 million ($630) from July.

Vietnam’s military currently has seven generals while its police force has two.

New salary of generals is 10 times current basic wage in the country's public sector. The current basic wage is VND1.39 million, after a 7 percent hike from the beginning of this month.

Public workers' monthly payments are calculated by multiplying this basic rate with a coefficient determined by qualifications and experience.

Besides the official salary, the Minister of National Defense will receive a monthly bonus of VND2 million, while chief commanders between VND1.7-1.9 milion.

The lowest-ranking military official, a lieutenant, gets VND5.8 million per month.

Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita last year was $2,385. In Southeast Asia, this figure was just higher than that of Cambodia and Myanmar.