The city's real-life spidermen - scaffolding workers - are to receive an 11 per cent pay rise from next month, thanks to the construction boom which has pushed up demand for site workers.
The increase, agreed by the trade association and union, is the biggest since 1997 and will see scaffolding workers paid around HK$1,000 for an eight-hour day, up from the current HK$900.
Assuming 20 days of work a month, a scaffolder can earn HK$20,000 - comparable to that of a management trainee.
The construction sector yesterday said it hoped the pay adjustment would attract more young people to the trade to ease the labour shortage and solve the problem of an ageing workforce.
Contractors have also complained of shortages of bar benders, carpenters and drainage and metal framework workers. Bar benders are being paid HK$1,250 a day, but there is still a shortage of around 1,500.
The Hong Kong Construction Association, which represents about 300 contractors, expected labour costs to keep rising but hoped this could attract higher quality and younger workers. The association said it had no plans to consider importing cheap labour.