Based mostly on my calculation, if the system had been adopted in 2011, the minimal wage could be about HK$41.7 an hour in 2024, solely barely greater than the present one. The minimal wage that comes into impact utilizing the brand new system can be a bit greater than what it will have been had the wage been calculated utilizing the brand new system from 2011 onwards, as it is going to be yearly adjusted.
When it was launched in earlier years, the Hong Kong Poverty State of affairs Report confirmed the continuous worsening of the town’s poverty price. The low minimal wage has been partly guilty. The month-to-month median earnings of Hong Kong earners elevated from HK$11,300 in 2011 to HK$20,000 in 2023. That’s an amassed improve of 77 per cent. Nevertheless, minimal wage earners solely noticed a rise of 43 per cent in that interval.
The federal government needs to be counseled for making an attempt a brand new method to setting the minimal wage. Despite concern from the enterprise neighborhood, the federal government was capable of attain a consensus and provide you with an answer. The brand new method to the minimal wage needs to be seen as a win for everybody.
First, the brand new system has gained help from Hong Kong’s grass-roots communities – people who find themselves struggling daily to make finish’s meet. Hopefully, the brand new minimal wage system can create a ripple impact that may enhance the wages of low-income staff.
Second, the system additionally reveals that employers and staff can discover some widespread floor with the intention of enhancing relations within the office. Blissful staff are good for enterprise.
Third, this is a chance to inform an excellent story about Hong Kong, one which reveals that we as a metropolis are making real progress in taking care of the well-being of low-income staff.
Lastly, this new method reveals the federal government has not less than executed one thing proper and met certainly one of its guarantees, which has a significant affect on the neighborhood.
Why is it that the federal government can’t make use of these staff straight? The extra price is minimal. Furthermore, it’s not simply staff but additionally their households who would profit. Employees ought to have the ability to earn a dwelling wage slightly than simply counting on help from the federal government. Creating jobs and paying staff an honest wage are the simplest and sustainable methods to raise individuals out of poverty.
The problem right here is accountable governance and the precept that nobody ought to stroll away from their tasks. By holding contractors accountable, we will normalise higher practices, resembling defending the pursuits of firms and the well-being of their staff on the identical time.
Paul Yip is a chair professor (inhabitants well being) on the Division of Social Work and Social Administration on the College of Hong Kong