Mixed Views On Minimum Wage Raise

Labour representatives and lawmakers are divided on whether increasing the city’s minimum wage level to HK$40 an hour is sufficient to help the grassroots community stay afloat.

The Chief Executive in Council on Tuesday approved a HK$2.5 increase proposed by the government-appointed Minimum Wage Commission, ending a four-year freeze.

Unionist lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung said while he welcomes the pay hike, low-income workers deserve more.

"Under the current mechanism, the changes can only [keep up with] the inflation. But we think that our workers should share more from the economic growth," the Federation of Trade Unions legislator said.

Priscilla Leung from the Business and Professionals Alliance, meanwhile, called the level of increase “reasonable”.

"It is a reasonable, compromised result... Hong Kong has suffered at least three years of economic hardship. It's time for all different stakeholders to have a breathing time," she said.

Meanwhile, the Society for Community Organisation expressed disappointment over the new rate, saying the government should raise it to at least HK$50 per hour.

"The government did not widely consult the labour organisations. The level of increase is even lower than the inflation," the group’s deputy director, Sze Lai-shan, said.

Currently, the minimum wage is reviewed every two years, but Sze said it is more appropriate to do so annually.