The monthly minimum wage in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin will go up by between 11.4 percent and 12.3 percent from Tuesday, the semi-official China News Service reported, as the government continues efforts to boost domestic demand.
The central government has repeatedly pledged to increase workers’ share of national income, pushing up wages steadily for more than a decade. It accelerated hikes in 2010 as an economic boom spread to the hinterland and fueled competition for labor.
In the latest hikes, wages will increase the most in Shanghai by 12.3 percent to 1,820 yuan ($290) a month from 1,620 yuan, and 21.4 percent on an hourly basis to 17 yuan from 14 yuan, according to the report on the website www.chinanews.com.
In the city of Tianjin, the monthly minimum wage will go up to 1,680 yuan from 1,500 yuan, an increase of 12 percent. The hourly minimum wage will also rise 12 percent, to 16.8 yuan from 15 yuan, it said.
In the capital, Beijing, the monthly minimum wage will rise 11.4 percent to 1,560 yuan from 1,400 yuan, while the hourly minimum wage will increase 11.2 percent to 16.9 yuan from 15.2 yuan, it said.
Minimum wages have also been hiked this year in Chongqing, Shaanxi, Shenzhen and Shandong, the China News Service reported.
Under the government’s 2011-15 “five-year plan” the minimum wage is expected to be raised by an average of 13 percent a year, according to the government-run website china.org.cn.
Source: Reuters
