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Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on the statutory minimum wage after attending a radio programme this morning (May 1):
Reporter: (inaudible)
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: I am quite sure that with everybody working together, statutory minimum wage should be successfully implemented in Hong Kong. On your question of paid meal breaks and paid rest days, I must stress that at the moment and all along, labour law is silent on whether employers have to pay for rest days and meal breaks. It is entirely up to employers and employees to negotiate. They are employment terms basically. Our message is quite clear that employers will have to comply with the minimum requirement for paying minimum wage. But on top of that, anything above that is up to contractual negotiation.
Reporter: The Labour Department had said many times that employers and employees should negotiate but people say that is not really reasonable because the employers have all of the power.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: No. Our message to the employers is also loud and clear. Given the new situation, employers should engage in candid, frank and sincere dialogue with the employees in order to iron out any differences. It is only in their own interest to have a workforce with high morale, high productivity and commitment.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Sunday, May 1, 2011
Issued at HKT 15:01
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