The long-anticipated introduction of a minimum wage law in Hong Kong has not been met with fanfare, but has instead given rise to confusion and recriminations on all sides.
While the legislation that took effect on May 1 was passed by the Legislative Council almost a year ago, a lot of grey areas remain.
The whole process is half-baked, according to Willy Kwong, a member of the Minimum Wage Alliance, because the government has failed to give clear directions over the most contentious issues of whether meal breaks and rest days should be paid by employers.
'There has been too much negative publicity. Not only are bosses reluctant to accept the new wage system, workers are also unwilling to be drawn into the whole controversy fearful that it might affect their employability,' he says.
There is also the problem of unscrupulous employers forcing workers to sign false contracts to claim they are self-employed in order to avoid paying the minimum hourly wage of HK$28.
Kwong says this kind of 'outsourcing' business practice has become more prevalent since the new law came into force, and many workers' unions have set up hotlines to deal with complaints and offer advice and counselling.
