Advertisement

Proposal on minimum wage fails yet again

Reading Time:1 minute
Why you can trust SCMP
0

Lawmakers from the business sector again blocked a motion proposed by the labour sector on a minimum wage and maximum working hours.

As in previous years, the latest motion, proposed by Chan Yuen-han of the Federation of Trade Unions and amended by democrat Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, won majority support from geographical constituency lawmakers but failed to obtain a majority in the functional constituencies.

Ms Chan, who proposed that the government legislate for a minimum wage to safeguard workers' basic living standards, and that the number of working hours be regulated, said 370,000 workers earned less than $5,000 a month.

'Many of them have attended the government's retraining programme but they are still unable to find appropriate jobs, and even if they do, the salaries are so low, they can't support their families,' she said.

But, as expected, the proposal met opposition from the business sector. Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, of the Liberal Party, said: 'Our workers' wages are already higher than those of others in the region. To put the policy in place would mean an increase in operational costs, which may force businesses to close down.'

Lawmakers from the accountancy and medical sectors supported a policy to cap working hours, saying excessive hours marred professionals' judgment, while insufficient rest also posed health problems.

Advertisement