According to incomplete statistics released by Ho Chi Minh City, since the middle of 2003, nearly 6,500 civil servants and Government employees in the city have left their jobs. They included section heads, department managers, senior specialists, engineers, medical doctors and even directors of city-affiliated companies. Worthy of note was that three officials holding prestigious posts such as deputy directors of the city’s Department of Planning and Investment, Department of Trade and Department of Tourism all resigned from office.

It came as no surprise that these Government officials and employees decided to quit their jobs. However, when the number has reached a thousand and is increasing dramatically in the country’s largest city, it is no longer a normal practice but becomes a question mark.

There are plenty of reasons for their resignation or transfer. However, according to the HCM City People’s Committee, the major reasons were salary and working conditions. 

It is true. Salary is the main income for Government employees. However, when pay rises fail to keep pace with soaring prices, they will surely feel the pinch and have no choice but to find a better paid job somewhere.

Luong Van Ly, former deputy director of HCM City's Department of Planning and Investment gave a plain answer for his resignation to get involved in business. He said, “Working as the Department’s deputy director, I really cannot keep my family living from hand to mouth with a monthly saIary of only VND2 million"! 

Are low salaries the main reason for such department officials to leave their work? Nguyen Van Cong, former deputy director of the Department of Trade now works for a well-known foreign investment fund in Vietnam. It is rumoured that he is paid a thousand dollars a month. Cong said he enjoyed his current working environment and could easily support his family despite price inflation.

From July 2003 to the end of 2007, as many as 6,422 Government employees in HCM City quit work. Among them 3,034 came from the education sector; 849 from the health sector; 698 from the State governance sector (including commune and ward officials), and 1,841 from other sectors.

The working environment is also very important. Cumbersome organisations, working styles and weak management in Government agencies at all levels have put a damper on individual creativity and advancement. Besides, treatment and evaluation policies remain a problem. In reality, many capable staff are not given the right jobs. This practice has discouraged many Government employees and forced them to leave. According to many of them, professional skills and talent are not enough to get promotion in such an idle working environment.

While capable Government employees voluntarily quit work, those whose capacity is at an average level but know how to please their superiors persist in their jobs. Many recommendations have been made to keep Government employees staying long in office. They include accelerating the salary reform policy, renewing the method of evaluation and the use of employees, putting the right person in the right place and empowering heads of department to recruit, use and manage their employees. In a recent press interview, Interior Minister Tran Van Tuan said that the Ministry was building a policy on increasing salaries and allowances for administrative officials to encourage them to devote themselves fully to their career.

 

It is predicted that more Government employees will leave their jobs. This is not a brain drain but only a transfer of talent to another workplace. Judging from an overall perspective, we can see most of the capable employees who have quit work are self-respecting. They do not want to stay in a non-transparent environment with a meagre salary. Is it abnormal when people want to advance themselves?