During the National Assembly’s group discussion session on socio-economic matters, many deputies focused on problems in operating the two-tier local government system.

Mai Van Hai, an NA deputy from Thanh Hoa Province, commented that the recent administrative restructuring has achieved the most significant results ever seen. After nearly four months of implementation, local observations see a noticeable improvement in the sense of responsibility among provincial and commune-level civil servants, leading to more efficient public service delivery.

However, Hai also highlighted ongoing issues. Many officials, especially at the commune level, are struggling to adapt to their new workload.

“Previously, commune-level officials handled only basic administrative tasks, while district-level officials had multiple specialized departments supporting them. As many tasks have been shifted to communes, workload increases while capacity and staffing are limited,” the NA deputy said.

He also pointed out that due to the merger of departments, a large number of responsibilities now fall on single units, particularly the departments of economy and infrastructure, which handle a vast workload.

NA Deputy Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy from Tay Ninh said a high number of officials and civil servants have quit under Regime 178 and others. However, no official statistics exist on 40 to 50-year-olds leaving.

“Voters and I are very concerned about this, because 40 to 50-year olds are well trained and  experienced. This certainly affects current public workforce quality,” Thuy said.

She also mentioned that each commune has only 32 officially assigned staff positions. After over three months of operating under the two-tier government model, the administrative section at the commune level now only has two departments, despite a heavy workload.

“Almost every commune is understaffed by more than 10 people,” she said.

Thuy expressed serious concerns about task execution quality at the local level, especially amid strong decentralization.

“We're short on people. Those who remain are mostly new and inexperienced. Few young district officials want to transfer to communes, and many resign. Commune officials face serious challenges when trying to step up and take on responsibilities that previously belonged to district officials,” she explained.

She also pointed out infrastructure and technology issues. “For example, during the 80th National Day (September 2), the government gave a 100,000 VND gift to citizens via the VNeID app. I tried registering but failed. In the end, local commune staff had to handle it manually, which was very exhausting,” she recalled.

Given the broad jurisdiction, low salaries, and heavy workload, many public officials are feeling uncertain and demotivated.

Lo Thi Luyen from Dien Bien reported that commune-level civil servants are overburdened and continue to receive their previous lower salaries even after taking on expanded responsibilities following the restructuring. Many have been promoted to leadership roles, but have yet to receive leadership stipends.

Additionally, many officials must commute long distances from their homes to the office, and most localities lack state housing. In financially struggling provinces, where budgets rely heavily on central government support, it’s nearly impossible to fund support mechanisms.

Urgent calls to raise base salaries 

Luyen called on the government to expedite salary reform and move toward a system that pays civil servants based on job positions and performance. She also requested support policies for travel and work conditions for staff in difficult areas.

Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy from Tay Ninh also called for a formal job-position framework for commune-level officials to be issued by no later than 2026. She emphasized the need for a base salary increase.

“In reality, those who resign enjoy decent severance policies. But those still working receive extremely low salaries, work under poor conditions, and face heavy workloads. Therefore, salaries for grassroots officials must be urgently increased,” she said.

She also proposed a reassessment of public sector human resources, especially at the commune level, to prepare for training and upskilling to meet upcoming demands.

Vu Xuan Hung from Thanh Hoa recommended that the government issue a unified legal framework for the two-tier local government system, especially for communes and special administrative units. 

He called for increased autonomy in budgeting and staffing, as well as mechanisms for transparent monitoring, and emphasized the need to accelerate digital transformation, enhance digital governance capacity, and ensure seamless data integration between central and local levels.

Tran Thuong