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The Labour Department (LD) today (March 28) released the "Statutory Minimum Wage: Reference Guidelines for Employers and Employees", to assist employers and employees in understanding the practical application of the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO) in order to facilitate their compliance with the law.
The Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) will come into force on May 1, 2011 and the initial SMW rate is $28 per hour. The MWO aims to establish a SMW regime which strikes an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs while sustaining Hong Kong's economic growth and competitiveness.
As the SMW system is new to Hong Kong, the LD has prepared the reference guidelines, with more than 30 illustrative examples, to explain the relevant provisions and the application of the MWO. The LD released the draft guidelines in December last year and consulted the Panel on Manpower of the Legislative Council, the Labour Advisory Board and over 300 relevant organisations on the draft.
Given the great variety of modes of employment, the guidelines do not intend to cover all situations exhaustively. Instead, relatively common examples are included to cover different situations and the low-paying sectors to facilitate employers and employees in understanding the MWO and its application.
In addition, the LD is collaborating with industry-based Tripartite Committees and liaising with relevant stakeholders to formulate industry-specific guidelines to address the particular mode of operation and pay structure of a few individual sectors. The LD is working at full steam to prepare draft industry-specific guidelines based on the views received from organisations of the industries concerned. On completion of the drafts, the LD will consult the relevant stakeholders to finalise the guidelines as soon as possible.
The "Statutory Minimum Wage: Reference Guidelines for Employers and Employees" is available on the department's website (www.labour.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call LD's hotline 2717 1771 which operates around-the-clock.
Ends/Monday, March 28, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:28
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