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Edith Lin

Hong Kong’s lowest-paid workers are set to receive a pay rise of HK$1 per hour, from the current HK$42.10 (US$5.40) to HK$43.10, as recommended by the government’s top decision-making body, with the new rate expected to come into force as early as May.
The government announced on Tuesday that the Executive Council had adopted the proposal from the Minimum Wage Commission (MWC), which had suggested the 2.38 per cent increase.
The amendment will be tabled in the legislature on February 25. Subject to the Legislative Council’s approval, the new rate will take effect on May 1. It is the second adjustment since a new formula for calculating the rate was passed in 2024.
Under the first adjustment last year, the statutory minimum wage (SMW) was increased by HK$2.10, from HK$40 to HK$42.10.
Commission chairwoman Priscilla Wong Pui-sze said the body had discussed the implementation arrangements for adopting the formula, examined the data for each indicator and assessed the effects.
“The MWC believes that the new SMW rate can maintain an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, while giving due regard to sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness,” she said.
Wong said she hoped that the legislature would give the proposal the green light.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also backed the new formula.
“The indicators adopted in the formula are objective and easily comprehensible, which enhances the transparency and predictability of the SMW adjustment, minimises controversy and is conducive to fostering harmonious labour relations,” he said.
Under the mechanism, the formula for calculating the wage level each year includes factors such as the consumer price index (A), gross domestic product growth and average GDP growth over the past 10 years.
The index reflects changes in the cost of consumer goods and services generally bought by households. Index (A) relates to about 50 per cent of households, which are in the relatively low expenditure range.
Unlike the previous process – where the commission analysed data, consulted stakeholders and recommended rates without a fixed formula – the new system applies the formula annually, with adjustments capped at zero.

Starting this year, the minimum wage will be reviewed annually rather than every two years.
Labour Advisory Board member Jenny Tam Kam-lin, who is also vice-chairwoman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, said it was a symbolic change, as the previous two-year review required lengthy negotiations between employee and employer representatives, especially amid economic uncertainty.
However, Tam said the proposed increase would not benefit low-income workers significantly, particularly those with children, as their daily expenses had risen while the government had also abolished a student grant of HK$2,500.
She hoped the formula could be adjusted once employers had become accustomed to the current arrangement.
Labour sector lawmaker Ken Lee Kwong-yu said the 2.38 per cent increase remained below the city’s 3.5 per cent GDP growth in 2025.
“If the rate of adjustment can edge closer to the GDP growth, residents can share the fruits of economic growth,” he said.
Andrew Kwok Chi-wah, president of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, said most companies were unaffected by the increase, as many industries – such as retail – were already paying above the suggested rate.
However, he noted that firms in cleaning and security services might face financial pressure, as salaries accounted for about 80 per cent of their contract expenses.
“Given that the contract period can be two or three years, as the rate adjusts, they lose more money,” he said.
Kwok added that small and medium-sized enterprises also faced additional burdens from other labour law amendments, such as easing the criteria for part-timers to receive benefits.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Exco backs Minimum Wage Commission’s suggested 2.38 per cent increase

Exco backs Minimum Wage Commission’s suggested 2.38 per cent increase