Minimum wage fears for tour guides

More than 1,000 tour guides may face dismissal or a change to part-time employee status after the statutory minimum wage comes into effect next month, the Tourism Industry Employees General Union says. The union's vice-chairman, Lam Chi-ting, said guides usually had no tour groups to serve in the off-season and so did not earn enough commission to reach the minimum-wage level. As guides were often on standby to serve tour groups, he urged the government to clarify whether this service would be included in working hours.