Economy

Higher pay is symbolic, too, and not everyone likes it

By Andrea Deng (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-25 13:59

HONG KONG - People who pride themselves on their education and jobs that require critical thinking are complaining that the minimum wage ordinance has lifted the incomes of the uneducated masses too close to their own.

"I spent too much time to get my bachelor's and master's degrees, only to find myself earning a mere HK$2,000 more than cleaners and security guards earn," a project director in her 20s told the Economic Daily News.

"Cleaners and security guards are paid for their labor, whereas I employ both mental work and labor, plus that much time and money invested at school, and the margin is only HK$2,000," she griped.

In some high-end private residential buildings, a security guard's monthly income can top HK$10,000.

Construction workers, who tend to drift around the city and work whenever there is a project, are usually paid about HK$22,000 a month. In other words, they earn around HK$137 an hour if they work eight hours a day.

"I don't think that this is a job just anyone can do," said a 52-year-old construction worker with three decades' experience. "Imagine during the hot summer days holding a big chunk of concrete pipe. Few people can bear the weight, not to mention the boiling temperature of these pipes."

He said no young people are willing to take the job, even when offered HK$15,000. They are rarely seen working on construction sites in Hong Kong.

Hui Po-keung, an associate professor in cultural studies at Lingnan University, questioned young people's views on their self-worth.

"I don't think it is easy to wash toilets and clean up garbage every day for 10 hours," he said.