Last Thursday, at the National Assembly sitting that discussed adjustments to the labor law, many members stressed the need to increase the minimum salary because workers are struggling to make ends meet on their current incomes.

Two days later, at a meeting on the losses suffered by state utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), General Director Pham Le Thanh also mentioned employees’ wages.

“The salary is quite low. It is probably acceptable in the countryside, but to live in cities, it isn’t enough. As their general director, I feel heartbroken that the corporation’s employees receive such a salary.”

There is nothing wrong with Thanh’s statement, except for the small fact that employees were paid an average of VND7.3 million (US$347) per month in 2009, two and half times the average salary of other Vietnamese workers, according to statistics compiled last year by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

The ministry also pointed out that of all the industries, only four offered top salaries of between VND5.5-9.2 million ($261-437) - mining and metallurgy, banking, pharmacy, and telecommunications and electronics.

It is small wonder then that Thanh’s statement raised many eyebrows and sparked some outrage.

Many people wondered why the leader of a state-owned corporation seemed to be totally ignorant about the situation regarding wages in the country, although the topic has grabbed headlines for several months. Actually, whenever EVN proposed an increase in retail power prices, local media and experts never failed to mention how current salaries did not warrant any more price hikes.

Thanh’s statement has also made people from different sectors regret their lot. There are teachers who have worked for decades but still receive just VND3-4 million ($142-190) per month. Millions of workers in the footwear and woodworking industries that bring billions of dollars into the country are only paid VND2-3 million ($95-142) a month.

These people have a right to question why people working in money-making industries receive lower salaries, while those working in the power industry that posted losses of VND10.162 trillion ($483.9 million) in 2010, and now faces huge losses this year, receive such high salaries.

The EVN leader said VND7.3 million is not enough for workers to make ends meet. What about millions of state employees in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and many other cities across the country?

More importantly, Thanh’s statement has highlighted why the power sector keeps demanding retail price increases, although the general public, businesses and management agencies have kept asking them to share difficulties that the nation is facing in inflationary times.

How can we expect the corporation to understand other people’s circumstances when its leader has no idea about national salary situation despite the fact that it is almost always mentioned following power price hike proposals?

As long as a company earns profit, it’s reasonable that its employees receive high salaries. But, given the huge losses that EVN has suffered recently, maybe it’s time for the corporation’s leaders to consider adjusting employees’ salaries accordingly.