【社評雙語道】優化最低工資檢討機制

【原文】下文摘錄自2023年1月11日香港《文匯報》︰

行政長官會同行政會議接納最低工資委員會建議，將法定最低工資水平由現時每小時37.5元，調升至40元。如獲立法會通過，在今年5月1日實施。本港最低工資的「安全網」作用持續遞減，最低工資增幅低於整體平均工資及通脹增幅，難以令基層勞工分享經濟成果，失去最低工資保障基層的意義。有必要優化最低工資檢討機制，考慮與工資中位數掛鈎，訂在高於綜援水平，以增強基層勞工工作意慾，提升社會生產力，亦讓基層勞工可以自食其力、有尊嚴地生活。

受疫情影響，2021年檢討最低工資時凍結在37.5元水平。去年展開新一輪最低工資水平檢討，最低工資委員會最終達成共識。不過，有勞工界人士形容，有關加幅僅貼近4年通脹，最低工資即使調升至40元，增幅與勞工界的期望存在落差，只是擔心若再次無法達成共識，最低工資會再凍結一次，只能勉強接受。

資料顯示，本港2011年實施最低工資的時薪為28元，2021年為37.5元，累計升幅為33.9%。由於28元最低工資水平按2009年數據訂立，2009年至2021年所有選定行業主類的名義工資已上升59%，較最低工資多出約25個百分點。政府統計處資料則顯示，反映基層消費物價的「甲類消費物價指數」，由2011年最低工資實施時的75.8升至2021年的104.6，升幅為38%，高於同期最低工資的33.9%升幅。

最低工資不但跑輸整體平均工資和通脹，甚至和綜援水平相差不遠。以4人家庭計算，平均每月綜援金額為16,975元，若以最低工資40元計，4人家庭中有兩人工作，每天8小時，每月26天，全家月入僅16,640元。現實反映，最低工資保障效應減少，追不上經濟發展水平，不利於紓解在職貧窮問題，發揮不到鼓勵就業的作用。

本港每次調整最低工資均備受關注，勞資雙方每次都爭論激烈，有商界人士屢屢表達憂慮，指大幅、頻繁調整最低工資，會導致低薪職位流失，增加中小企負擔，削弱本港競爭力。事實上，本港作為全球最自由經濟體，高度重視市場調節作用，在稅制、勞工政策已對資方作出傾斜；對勞工階層提供必要保障，亦是本港作為富裕文明國際都會促進社會公平、收窄貧富差距的應盡之責。

本港有不少聲音要求最低工資檢討機制應由「兩年一檢」改為「一年一檢」，公務員薪酬趨勢調查就是每年進行，最低工資「一年一檢」並非不可能、不可行。而且「一年一檢」，每次調整幅度較小，商界較容易接受。目前，發達經濟體普遍將最低工資的標準定於收入中位數的60%，令受惠人數保持在一成左右，本港亦可參考仿效，免卻收集分析數據等繁複程序和爭議，令最低工資增幅高於通脹、綜援，增加基層勞工投入就業市場的誘因，紓緩本港基層職位長期人手不足的問題，基層家庭收入增加亦有助刺激消費，中小企同樣受惠。完善最低工資檢討機制，勞資雙贏，有利香港社會和諧，值得各方認真考慮。

Improve the SMW review mechanism to enhance work incentive and labour protection

【譯文】The Chief Executive in Council has adopted the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) to raise the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate from its prevailing level of $37.5 per hour to $40. Subject to the approval of the Legislative Council, the revised SMW rate will come into force on 1 May this year. The "safety net" effect of SMW in Hong Kong continues to wear off, and the uprating magnitude of SMW is lower than the increase in overall average wage and inflation, making it difficult for grassroots employees to share the fruits of economic success and defeating the purpose of SMW to protect the grassroots. It is necessary to enhance the SMW review mechanism by linking it to the median wage and setting it at a level such that the total work income of a household would be higher than the amount of CSSA payments, so as to enhance work incentive, improve social productivity and enable the grassroots employees to stand on their own feet and earn their living with dignity.

The SMW rate was frozen at $37.5 in 2021 review because of the pandemic. Last year, a new round of review on SMW was launched and the MWC finally reached a consensus. However, some members of the labour sector said that the uprating magnitude was only in line with the four-year inflation rate, and even if the SMW was raised to $40, it was still lower than what the sector expected; they reached the consensus only because they worried that, if they did not, the SMW rate would be frozen again.

Statistics show that the SMW rate was $28 in 2011 and $37.5 in 2021, representing a cumulative increase of 33.9%. The SMW rate of $28 is set based on 2009 data, and the nominal wages of all selected industry sections have increased by 59% between 2009 and 2021, about 25 percentage points higher than the SMW increase rate. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the Consumer Price Index (A), which reflects the consumer prices of the grassroots, has increased from 75.8 in 2011 when the minimum wage was introduced to 104.6 in 2021, representing an increase of 38%, higher than the 33.9% increase of SMW rate during the same period.

Not only does the SMW rate fail to keep up with the overall average wage and inflation, but it is also slightly lower than the income provided by CSSA. For a four-person household, the average monthly CSSA payment is $16,975. For the same household, if two persons work at the SMW rate of $40, eight hours a day for 26 days a month, the monthly income of the whole family is only $16,640. It shows that the protection effect of the SMW diminishes and the SMW cannot keep up with the level of economic development, which is not conducive to alleviating the problem of working poverty and cannot serve the purpose of encouraging employment.

Each raise of the SMW rate in Hong Kong has been a matter of great concern and the subject of contentious debate between labour and management sectors. Some from the business sector have repeatedly expressed their concern that a drastic and frequent raise of the SMW rate will lead to a loss of low-paid jobs, increase the burden on SMEs and undermine Hong Kong's competitiveness. In fact, as the world's freest economy, Hong Kong attaches great importance to the market regulation and has already tilted its taxation and labour policies in favour of employers. It is also Hong Kong’s due responsibility as an affluent and civilised world city to promote social justice and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor by providing the necessary protection to the working class.

There are calls in Hong Kong for an annual review of the SMW rate instead of the current biennial process, and an annual review is neither impossible nor impracticable as the Pay Trend Survey is conducted yearly. Moreover, a "yearly review" will result in modest magnitude of the SMW uprating, which is more acceptable to the business sector. At present, it is common for developed economies to set the minimum wage at 60% of the median income, so that the number of beneficiaries remains at around 10% of the labour force. Hong Kong can follow suit, which avoids controversies and the complicated procedures of data collection and analysis, and can uprate the SMW at a higher degree than inflation and to a level higher than the amount of CSSA payments, which incentivises grassroots to enter the workforce and alleviates the chronic shortage of manpower for low-paid jobs. The income increase of grassroots families will also help stimulate consumption, benefiting SMEs too. Enhancement of the review mechanism of the SMW brings about a win-win situation for both labour and management sectors and is conducive to Hong Kong's social harmony, thus deserving serious consideration of all parties.

◆ Kevin Cheung (CUSCS Lecturer)