Minimum Wage Freeze Is Like 'stealing From Beggars'

Grassroot workers and unions have lashed out at the government's decision to freeze the minimum wage, with callers to an RTHK programme describing the move as "disgusting" and likening it to "stealing from the bowl of a beggar".

Officials announced on Tuesday that the city's minimum wage will be frozen at HK$37.5 an hour, the first time it won't go up at the end of a biennial review.

The administration said the decision was based on recommendations of the Minimum Wage Commission, which said most of its members believed an increase in the minimum wage could prompt companies to cut low-paying jobs.

A man surnamed Poon told a phone-in programme on Wednesday that both he and his son lost their jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The [minimum wage] is not increased, but in fact it should be, it's like stealing rice from a beggar's bowl," he said, adding that his family is now relying on savings and his wife's HK$6,000 monthly salary.

"Civil servants receive pay rises every year. Why can't you show understanding to low-income earners? Please show some sympathy," he said.

Another caller, surnamed Tsang, said the government was to blame for the state of the economy, saying it had handled the pandemic poorly.

"My income is also affected. But [officials] are still getting paid hundreds of thousands dollars a month. One even said she can't deposit money at banks and has to put the money at home. Why is she showing off?" she complained, apparently referring to Chief Executive Carrie Lam's claim that she stores her salary at home, in cash.

Speaking on the same programme, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, Lam Chun-sing, said the freeze means grassroots workers can't maintain their purchasing power, and this would affect their living standard.

But the convenor of the Hong Kong Business Community Joint Conference, Catherine Yan, said even if the minimum wage were to be increased, businesses would just shift the cost to consumers, and make people's lives even harder.