Pay workers a ‘living wage’ of HK$54.70, Hong Kong employers urged
- Study by Oxfam and Chinese University finds that is the minimum needed to survive in the city
Hongkongers must be paid at least HK$54.70 (US$7) an hour to ensure a basic standard of living, 58 per cent higher than the minimum wage, a study has found.
But the onus was on employers to make it happen voluntarily, and not on the government to legislate, the pollsters said.
Oxfam and Chinese University conducted five focus group discussions with a total of 36 people from poor families, from November 2017 to February this year to look at how much they normally spend on basic necessities such as food, transport and rent.
The “living wage” study found that basic monthly expenses for a single person were between HK$10,494 and HK$11,548, while that for a three-person family was between HK$19,935 and HK$21,156.
Assuming a person works eight hours a day for 26 days a month, the person has to make HK$54.70 an hour to make ends meet. That was much higher than the current hourly minimum wage of HK$34.50, which is expected to go up to HK$37.50 next year.
“If any government officials respond by saying that the level is too high, I would ask: why don’t I pay you that much and you try to live off it?” said Wong Hung, assistant professor of social work at the university, who conducted the study.