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SCMP Reporter

Calls for a minimum wage grew yesterday, a day after new government figures showed the city's wealth gap had widened further.

Social workers and academics blamed the lack of wage protection for the low-paid amid a migration of jobs to the mainland for the growing disparity.

The latest household income statistics showed inequality in the city as measured by a statistical device called the Gini coefficient - high by international standards - had risen significantly in the past decade while it had been shrinking in other developed economies.

The number of households earning less than HK$4,000 and more than HK$40,000 a month had also risen, sparking fears of the development of an 'M-shaped economy' where the middle class disappears.

Sze Lai-shan, of the society for community organisation,  said the disparity could be due to the minimal protection of salaries for the working class.

She said workers had encountered difficulties in job hunting in recent years, as sectors like construction, food and beverages moved  to the mainland.

But even those who managed to get a job earned very little.

'Some workers may earn only HK$2,000 to HK$4,000 a month,' she said. 'This couldn't even support the family's basic expenses, not to mention their children's tuition fees.'

Ms Sze said minimum wage legislation by itself was not a solution but would at least help to narrow the income gap.

She also hoped the government could create more job opportunities. 'Sectors like logistics, industrial, or environmental companies actually can create a number of job opportunities for blue-collar workers,' she said.

Academic and legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung agreed.

Wong Hung,  an assistant professor at Chinese University's social work department, believed introducing the old age pension scheme  could narrow the divide.



Wage calls grow as wealth gap widens