Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Donald Tsang stated in his 2008-09 Policy Address that the HK Government will proceed with the legislative work on minimum wage since the Wage Protection Movement for cleaning workers and security guards launched in October 2006 is unsatisfactory.
Drawing on the successful experience of other countries, HK Government will establish an advisory Minimum Wage Commission. Its members will be drawn from the labor sector, the business community, academia and government departments. The Commission will study the level for the minimum wage as well as the review mechanism, to ensure a sensible balance between safeguarding the interests of grassroots workers and forestalling the loss of low-paid jobs, while sustaining the economic growth and competitiveness. The Labor and Welfare Bureau will proceed immediately with the preparatory work for the establishment of the MWC.
The Government is inclined to go for an across-the-board statutory minimum wage aiming to introduce a bill into this Council in the 2008-09 legislative session. The Government will handle the relevant issues, including the minimum wage level and related review mechanism, in a prudent and pragmatic manner, as Donald Tsang stressed in his Policy Address.
