The government of Hong Kong has decided to increase the minimum wage to HK $40 per hour, which earlier was HK $37.5. The government is preparing to make it official on 13 January 2023, and they will submit the proposed bill to the Legislative Council for approval on 18 January 2023. As per a specific source, this minimum wage improvement has been shown in the city after 4-years freeze.
This is one most needed gesture given to citizens by the government; Almost 90,000 of Hong Kong’s lowest-paid workers will benefit from a higher minimum wage and get a hike of HK $2.5. I.e., approximately 6.7%. Once the bill is proposed to the Legislative Council (LegCo), they will accept it by revising the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW), the policy will be commenced on 01 May 2023.
The Employment Ordinance (Amendment of Ninth Schedule) Notice 2023 has also come into force by ordering the government workers to record the monthly monetary cap and the total number of hours worked by an employee. However, the employer is exempted from counting the working hours of their employee in case they are getting a salary of HK $16300 a month.
Chris Sun, Secretary of Labour and Welfare, is impressed by the MWC’s accomplishment in revising the SMW rate. He said, “After careful consideration, the government is of the view that the MWC has ably discharged its statutory function of reviewing the SMW rate after thorough and balance deliberation.”
This hike benefits 87,000 workers who are working in security and cleaning jobs, the government-appointed Minimum Wage Commission said. Priscilla Wong Pui-Sze, the commission chairwoman, said, “We believe the new rate can strike the right balance between the objectives of forestalling meager wages and minimizing the loss of low-paid jobs.”
Acting Government Economist Desmond Hou Ka-Chun highlighted the impressive numbers and stated that this would benefit a large group of employees, around 87000 workers who made less than HK $40 an hour.
Speaking of economic rates, Hou added that the percentage of 6.7 increase is more favorable than the cumulative 5.4% inflation rate since the last rise in 2019. If we go through the official assessment, the rate could be HK$44 an hour, but around 19800 workers could have lost their jobs. It results in pushing the unemployment rate up to 0.54% points.
This minimum wage rate increases every two years; the last increase was in 2019 for HK $28 per hour.
- Published By Team Hongkong Journalist
