Veteran unionist Lau Chin-shek says the legal wage floor of HK$28 an hour is a good starting point in the city's push to better protect workers' rights.
The founding chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions made the comment yesterday at a forum celebrating the 20th anniversary of the confederation.
Lau, who is a member of the Provisional Minimum Wage Commission, said the setting up of a statutory wage floor at HK$28 represented a compromise between business interests and workers' demands.
'It's from zero to the wage floor,' he said. 'If you ask me, I will of course say that the higher the wage level the better, but the commission found a consensus that [everyone] accepted. The commission has served its function. But for it, there would just be endless bickering.'
The confederation first proposed a minimum wage law 11 years ago.
The 12 members of the provisional panel will sit until a minimum wage commission is formally set up. Lau said the government had invited him to continue serving on the permanent commission.
'Negotiation is my strong suit. I will do my best [for labour rights] ... but I still have not decided whether to continue to serve on the commission. I have to see how it is made up first. It's better to work with familiar people than unfamiliar ones. If it's the same bunch of people, it will be an easier call.'