Statutory minimum wage will rise to HK$40 per hour from 1 May 2023

Readers of APERCU may recall our article in April 2021 reporting on the decision to freeze the statutory minimum wage at HK$37.5 per hour for two years (until 2023). It had been fixed at HK$37.5 per hour since 1 May 2019, and April 2021 was the first time that the government had frozen the minimum wage since it was introduced on 1 May 2011.

As 2023 got underway, the government had some good news for Hong Kong workers. The Executive Council has accepted the Minimum Wage Commission’s recommendation to increase the statutory minimum wage from HK$37.5 per hour to HK$40 per hour. As long as this is approved by the Legislative Council, the new rate will take effect on 1 May this year.

Back in February 2021, the former Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi Kong, announced the government’s decision to freeze the statutory minimum wage at its 2019 level due to the deep economic recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to avoid the loss of low-paid jobs, which would have added to the increases in the unemployment rate.

The present Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Chris Sun Yuk-han, has expressed his delight, stating that the new statutory minimum wage will strike the right balance between ending excessively low wages and avoiding cuts in low-paid jobs, whilst maintaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness. 

 

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