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Hong KongHong Kong Economy

Hong Kong’s minimum wage workers to be paid HK$3 an hour more, and no one is happy about the increase

Bosses claim extra funds will cost them HK$700 million a year, while labour unions call rise to HK$37.50 an hour shameful

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Workers such as (from left to right) Ping, 56, a cleaner, Keung, 73, an overnight security guard, and Ling, 71, a cleaner, will all benefit from the proposed rise in the minimum wage. Photo: Winson Wong
Phila Siu

Hong Kong’s hourly minimum wage is expected to increase by HK$3 an hour, with government advisers reaching an agreement after “fiery” discussions.

The impending change has angered labour unions and the business sector alike. If approved by government, the rise will add an extra HK$700 million a year to the expenses of the city’s businesses, a source said.

Union leaders meanwhile have slammed the meagre increase to HK$37.50 (US$4.70) an hour as “shameful”.

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The rise in the minimum wage for workers such as Ah Lai, a dishwasher in a restaurant in Sham Shui Po, will reportedly cost the city’s businesses an extra HK$700 million. Photo: Dickson Lee
The rise in the minimum wage for workers such as Ah Lai, a dishwasher in a restaurant in Sham Shui Po, will reportedly cost the city’s businesses an extra HK$700 million. Photo: Dickson Lee

“Hong Kong’s grass-roots residents are still stuck in poverty [despite the raise],” Lee Cheuk-yan, general secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions said.

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During the Minimum Wage Commission’s talks, representatives of employers initially only agreed to a rise to HK$36 per hour, leading to the talks getting more heated.

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