The minimum wage will be raised to 40 yuan an hour starting from Labor Day (May 1) this year. It is said that it may be lower than the actual amount of assistance received by CSSA recipients, triggering attacks from both the left and the right.
The Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Sun Yuhan, responded earlier (January 14) that wage earners do not go to work just to make money, and many people have the backbone to give up social welfare.
However, the remarks caused even greater controversy. After Zeng Jiahui, president of Oxfam Hong Kong, publicly criticized Sun Yuhan as "overgeneralizing" and "disappointing" last week, some scholars wrote articles in newspapers to refute Sun Yuhan's "spine theory", saying that It confuses social welfare with backbone, which is actually to consolidate the negative label of social security such as CSSA in mainstream society. It is definitely not what the Labor and Welfare Secretary should make.
According to government statistics, there are about 14,300 low-paid workers in Hong Kong who only receive the minimum wage of 37.5 yuan. Most of them are mainly engaged in cleaning, security, retail and other jobs.
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Sun Yuhan's inappropriate theory of integrity
may make Luo Zhiguang angry
Li Junrong, a lecturer in the Division of Social Sciences, Humanities and Design, Faculty of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, published an article titled "Minimum Wage Skeleton Theory What Is "Too Low" Is Not Clear", responding to the recent controversy on minimum wages.
Li Junrong said that the statement that "the minimum wage is lower than the CSSA" has attracted the attention of both the left and the right: for the right, welfare means "raising lazy people", so when the minimum wage may be lower than the CSSA, they think it is the government Encourage everyone to be "lazy"; for the left, the current CSSA system cannot allow people to live a truly dignified life. It not only severely oppresses employees, but also despises the labor value of migrant children.
In his view, Sun Yuhan's "spine theory" is a response to the right wing.
"But I suspect that Director Sun's remarks will upset the previous Director of Labor and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang." Li Junrong quoted Luo Zhiguang's blog published on February 14, 2021, referring to Luo himself. The words insulting CSSA recipients are a bit "hot"", in order to clarify many people's misunderstandings about CSSA recipients.
Li Junrong explained, "A person who receives CSSA is not necessarily unemployed, not to mention that a person is unemployed or has insufficient income, which often has nothing to do with his integrity and hard work." Moreover, how much a person contributes to society cannot be judged solely by whether he or she participates in the labor market. Judgments, such as uncompensated caregivers, are labor-intensive and create significant value for society.
Confuse social welfare with backbone
without any definition of "too low"
Li Junrong criticized Sun Yuhan for this, "Confusing social welfare with backbone is actually consolidating the negative label of social security such as CSSA in mainstream society, and it is definitely not what the Secretary of Labor and Welfare should make."
As for Sun Yuhan's statement that "CSSA is used to cover the bottom line, so we should not compare CSSA with the minimum wage", Li Junrong also pointed out that the "bottom" that the minimum wage needs to cover is not the bottom line of the quality of life, but the bottom line. The minimum hourly wages you get when you are a labor force, but, "How should this 'floor' be determined? What effect do you want to achieve by taking this bottom?"
For example, according to the current mechanism, the minimum wage amount is first proposed by the Minimum Wage Commission and then submitted to the Chief Executive in Council for approval; however, the entire process is depressing the minimum wage, and even if you read the 2022 Report of the Minimum Wage Commission published earlier , the Minimum Wage Commission makes no attempt at all to define what constitutes "underpaid" wages.
He suggested that the SAR government implement an annual inspection of the minimum wage, and through inspections, carefully review what is meant by "too low".
The "minimum wage" has been criticized for its low level since it came into effect. Even if it is about to be raised to 40 yuan, it is still less than the CSSA level for a two-person family.
In this regard, Sun Yuhan once responded that "CSSA is a security system used by the society as a "backstop" and cannot be compared with the minimum wage." People have a lot of backbone and would rather work than take social benefits."
The remarks aroused widespread criticism. Last week, Oxfam President Zeng Jiahui wrote an article "Responding to the Myth about the Minimum Wage", refuting Sun Yuhan's "spine theory".
