Political situation
Written by: Liang Zijie
2020-08-23 18:29
Last update date: 2020-08-23 18:29The Minimum Wage Committee will discuss the minimum wage level in 2021. As the overall economy is hit by the epidemic, the business community and some political groups have suggested freezing the minimum wage on the grounds of the deterioration of the economic environment and the freezing of wages by civil servants and the Hospital Authority.
The Federation of Trade Unions held a press conference today (23rd) to express its opposition to freezing the minimum wage level, stating that the minimum wage adjustment should catch up with inflation to ensure that the wage income of "lower-level workers" is not affected by inflation and receives reasonable and fair treatment.
Huang Guo emphasized that the purpose of minimum wage legislation is to prevent wages from being too low, cope with working poverty, and promote social integration. (Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
Huang Guo, chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, emphasized that the purpose of minimum wage legislation is to prevent low wages, cope with working poverty, and promote social integration. More importantly, it is to protect the lowest-paid and self-reliant "lower-level workers" from exploitation. And live with dignity.
Huang Guo believes that "lower-level workers" in grassroots industries such as cleaning, security, and express delivery are not guaranteed by the labor market. When the economic environment is good, wage increases are limited, and when the economy deteriorates, they are often the first to be targeted. He said that the "lower-level workers" who currently earn a minimum wage of RMB 37.5 per hour earn only RMB 7,800 per month, which is far lower than the general wage level in society.
Huang said that the number of people covered by the minimum wage has been reduced from 180,000 in 2011 to 20,000 now. He believes that the number of people earning the minimum wage has dropped significantly, and the increase in the minimum wage has little effect on the operating costs of enterprises. The increase in the minimum wage will not put unbearable pressure on the business sector, but will reduce the burden on the living of the grassroots.
The government says the minimum wage is higher than inflation, but the purchasing power of the bottom workers has not improved
Although the Bureau of Labor and Welfare has repeatedly stated that the minimum wage is higher than inflation, Huang Guo pointed out that inflation data reflecting grassroots expenditure should refer to the Category A consumer price index instead of the composite consumer price index.
He pointed out that the cumulative increase in the minimum wage up to 2019 is 33.9% and the cumulative increase in the Consumer Price Index Category A in the same period is 32.4%. The two are very close, with a difference of only 1.5 percentage points. Therefore, it can be said that the real purchasing power of "bottom workers" There has been no improvement.
Tang Gung-yao, director of the Rights and Interests Committee of the Federation of Trade Unions, said that high prices in Hong Kong and basic expenditures on basic necessities such as clothing, food, housing and transportation have been high, putting huge economic pressure on the "lower labor". (Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
The minimum wage lags behind two important economic data
At the same time, the minimum wage is now lagging behind two important economic data, namely the median hourly wage and the growth rate of GDP.
The cumulative increase in the median hourly wage and GDP from 2011 to 2019 was 39.3% and 48.3%, respectively, but the minimum wage increase was only 33.9%, which lags behind by 5.4 and 14.4 percentage points respectively. The data shows that the minimum wage has deviated from the wage growth of most Hong Kong employees, and the “lower-level workers” have been unable to share the social and economic achievements, which is also the main cause of working poverty.
Tang Gung-yao, director of the Rights and Interests Committee of the Federation of Trade Unions, said that high prices in Hong Kong and basic expenditures on basic necessities such as clothing, food, housing and transportation have been high, putting huge economic pressure on the "lower labor".
Tang Gengyao pointed out that taking a sub-divided house as an example, a sub-divided house less than 200 square feet currently costs 7,000 yuan in rent. Although the rent of subdivided houses is lower than that of ordinary private buildings, the living environment of subdivided houses is poor, and the rent increase is much higher than that of private buildings, reflecting the unfair phenomenon that the economic burden of "lower labor" is heavier than that of the general public. He believes that the increase in the minimum wage must catch up with inflation "outperforming" the Category A consumer price index, otherwise the wages of the "lower labor" will only be eaten away by price increases.
Good sister said that cleaners need to switch to outsourcing companies and change their contracts every other year. The old company’s benefits such as annual leave cannot be renewed. It is recommended that the government increase the minimum wage. (Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
"Lower-level workers" lament that low incomes are difficult to livelihood and hope that the government will raise the minimum wage
Mr. Chen, who works as a security guard for public housing estates and earns the minimum wage, said that although his monthly income is $11,700, but basic living expenses such as food, clothing, housing and transportation are about 9,000 yuan, the remaining savings can only be saved to prevent unexpected needs . He pointed out that at present, many security guards only receive about 8,000 monthly salary for 8 hours, and only 12,000 monthly salary for 12 hours. Some colleagues in the security industry need to do more part-time jobs to meet family expenses. He hopes that the government will raise the minimum wage to ease the pressure on the life of "lower-level workers."
Sister Fang and Sister Hao, who work as cleaners, said that cleaners need to switch outsourcing companies and change their contracts every other year. The old company’s benefits such as annual leave cannot be renewed. It is recommended that the government raise the minimum wage so that their lives will not be difficult. It's harder.
Tang Gengyao pointed out that cleaners have to bear the huge increase in workload due to the epidemic, and urged the government to raise the minimum wage and improve the treatment of outsourced workers, so that "lower-level workers" can live a dignified life.
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