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The following is issued on behalf of the Provisional Minimum Wage Commission:
The Provisional Minimum Wage Commission (PMWC) today (March 18) invited the submission of views on the initial statutory minimum wage (SMW) rate.
According to the PMWC's terms of reference, after rounds of discussions and having regard to the views of stakeholders, the PMWC is preliminarily of the view that a basket of indicators, other factors relevant to the SMW policy and the impact assessment of the SMW should be taken into consideration in deliberating the initial SMW rate. The PMWC's preliminary views were uploaded onto its webpage for public information on March 2.
To support the implementation of the SMW, the Census and Statistics Department conducted the Annual Earnings and Hours Survey last year. Following the release of its report today, the PMWC is calling for the submission of views with reference to the report, as well as other relevant statistical data, to facilitate the undertaking of prudent, objective and comprehensive analyses and deliberations on the matter. For details, please refer to the PMWC's webpage (www.labour.gov.hk).
Interested parties are welcome to submit their views to the PMWC by fax to 2110 3518; by email to pmwc@labour.gov.hk; or by post to 1/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong, on or before April 26, 2010.
The PMWC is tasked to advise the Chief Executive on the initial SMW rate. In deriving the SMW rate on the basis of an evidence-based approach, the PMWC would strive to ensure a sensible balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, while sustaining Hong Kongˇ¦s economic growth and competitiveness.
Ends/Thursday, March 18, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:02
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