A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam
A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam
Mike Rowse
Opinion

Opinion

Mike Rowse

If you are jobless or earn the minimum wage, Hong Kong is no place to be

  • The government’s decision to freeze the minimum wage while rejecting calls for unemployment support is a double whammy for the city’s vulnerable
  • Not only are the economic arguments behind these moves weak, but Hong Kong as a society should also have done better on humane and social justice grounds

Mike Rowse
Mike Rowse

Updated: 2:15pm, 21 Feb, 2021

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A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam
A cleaning worker sits at a food outlet in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, on February 2. All work deserves its own dignity. The present minimum wage is undignified – it belittles us all. Photo: Nora Tam
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Mike Rowse

Mike Rowse

Mike Rowse has lived in Hong Kong since 1972, and is a naturalised Chinese citizen. He spent six years in the ICAC from 1974 to 1980, then 28 years in the government as an administrative officer until retirement in December 2008. He is now the search director for Stanton Chase International, and also hosts a radio talk show and writes regularly for both English and Chinese media.