AL committee suggests major changes to minimum wage bill

Cheang Chi Keong

The Legislative Assembly’s 3rd Standing Committee –
currently discussing the bill setting a minimum wage for cleaning and security personnel –
will be suggesting substantial changes to the diploma, in order to later contemplate other employment sectors.
According to a TDM report, the president of the 3rd Standing Committee, lawmaker Cheang Chi Keong revealed yesterday that they are hoping to determine the main principles of the legislation so that other employment sectors can be contemplated for the new minimum wage.
The idea is to draft a diploma defining general principles for the minimum wage. Therefore, if the government later decides to include other employment sectors, they will only have to make amendments to the law, rather than drafting a new one.
“At this moment, the bill only addresses employees of two professional sectors [cleaning and security personnel] of one area [working under management companies]. If in the future the government decides to determine a minimum wage for other sectors, they would have to draft a new diploma. Therefore, we are pondering [the introduction of] a law defining general principles for the minimum wage,” Cheang Chi Keong explained.
Moreover, an addendum would be added to this legislation, including all professions and sectors to which a minimum wage has already been set.
Cheang Chi Keong recalled that there are other low paid jobs, for instance within the manufacturing sector, which could benefit from a minimum wage. Workers within these sectors often request a complementary subsidy provided by the government to employees with lower salaries.
The minimum wage for cleaning and security personnel working under management companies has been set at MOP30 per hour. For now, legislation is only focusing on setting a minimum wage for this group.