Employers remained united in their opposition to a law enforcing a minimum wage as a union campaign got under way to press the chief executive for legislation on the issue.
Employers Federation executive director Louis Pong Wai-yan said members could not accept legislation. 'We cannot compare ourselves to the US or Britain because they don't have a continent next door that provides an abundant labour supply at only one-tenth of our labour costs.'
The Labour Advisory Board was trying hard to come up with a feasible plan for a minimum-wage charter. 'How do corporations monitor their contractors, and where does their obligation end? These are issues we need to resolve,' he said.
Employer representatives have proposed that companies be regulated by a form of pledge instead of legislation.
Legislators and members of the Federation of Trade Unions will stage a sit-in protest outside the Hong Kong government headquarters today, followed by a 30-hour hunger strike by a union coalition outside the Sogo department store on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Employers Federation will invite socialite Mary Cheung and others to host seminars on proper dress code in the office, after some employers expressed dismay at their staff appearing for work dressed in slippers and vests.
