The Shenzhen Labour and Social Security Bureau told a seminar in the city that it was considering raising the minimum monthly wage to more than 800 yuan from the current minimum of 690 yuan. Representatives from local industries attending the session said the hike would put a great deal of pressure on them.

According to a report in the Zhonghua Industrial and Commercial Times (Zhonghua Gongshang Shibao), the Shenzhen Municipal Labour and Social Security Bureau recently put out a questionnaire on its website, seeking comments on the adjustment of the minimum wage. The results of the survey showed that 80 percent of the respondents were in favour of raising the minimum monthly wage to 800 or higher and 63 percent of those responding believed the minimum wage should be raised to 850 yuan a month.

In addition, about 75 percent of the respondents believed that the minimum wage in areas outside of the special economic zone (SEZ) should be raised to 800 yuan a month or even higher.

The Labour Bureau is planning to hold several more seminars and next month aims to put together a bill to seek adjustment of the minimum wage this year. The bill will be sent to the city government and the new rate is expected to come into force on July 1.

However, representatives from some local enterprises believe that the new minimum wage will also bring about a hike in the base on which overtime pay is calculated and that will push up a company’s costs. One holding company employing 40,000 workers in all said its monthly costs will rise by 4 million yuan. The hike would be a great burden on those companies that are already not doing well.

Shenzhen city government last lifted the minimum wage on 1 July 2005 when it raised it to 690 yuan and lifted the minimum wage for areas surrounding the SEZ to 580 yuan a month. At present, some cities in the Yangtze River Delta area (changsanjiao) are planning to raise their minimum wage to about 800 yuan a month. Tianjin has raised its minimum monthly wage to 670 yuan from 590 yuan.

Sources: Zhonghua Industrial and Commercial Times (Zhonghua Gongshang Shibao), Mingpao (17 March 2006)

21 March 2006