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

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.