Bosses getting the message on minimum wage

NEWS; Pg. 2

Anita Lam

More employers are raising wages for cleaners and security guards in response to a Labour Department policy that refuses to post vacancies for positions that pay less than the government's recommended minimum wage, the department says.

The practice had resulted in higher wages for 1,500 workers by last month, a spokeswoman said, while acknowledging that a similar number of employers had decided to withdraw their postings. Of every two employers asked to raise wages to meet the average market rate for jobs in the two sectors, 1.25 employers agreed, compared to just one when the policy was applied in October.

Former permanent secretary of economic development and labour Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, under whose leadership the policy was introduced, said it was a good sign.
"It took time for the message to filter through, but it's making progress," said Mr Cheung, who left the post on March 31.

The rise is certain to be put before the next Labour Advisory Board meeting when it discusses benchmarks to gauge the success of the voluntary wage protection movement.
The benchmarks will be crucial to determine whether the scheme continues after next year or is replaced by legislation for a minimum wage.

But Ip Wai-ming, the Federation of Trade Unions representative on the board, said the union's definition of success was "not one [worker be paid] less [than the minimum]".

"Every single worker must be paid the minimum wage, not just a portion of it, or even a large portion, and we still believe this can only be achieved through legislation," he said.
Employer representative Stanley Lau Chin-ho said this was an unrealistic goal. "The pay trend is also a very powerful indicator of the movement's success," he said. "For example do you find workers' wages remaining stable or are they gradually improving? What are the changes in times of a slack economy?"

The recommended minimum wage is taken from the quarterly average published by the Census and Statistics Department. In the last quarter of last year, this was HK$5,073 for cleaners and HK$6,941 for security workers, up from HK$5,011 and HK$6,844 in the previous quarter.

New permanent secretary for economic development and labour Paul Tang Kwok-wai said he was still acquainting himself with the topic, but he believed the problems with the movement could be solved.

"Most corporations are willing to support the scheme, but for companies who only provide [cleaning and security] services for others, it is difficult for them ? because they exert no control over those workers' wages."

Mr Tang said companies that directly employed such workers could join the scheme.

He added the department was still striving to lobby support from body corporates - buyers of the services.

April 8, 2007