(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-10 11:06

The government should break the fixed period of adjusting the minimum wage and link it to the rising price index, says an article in the Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

Recently, a group of migrant workers in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, wrote a letter to Nanfang Daily, a local newspaper, expressing their wish to have their minimum wages raised so that they can support their families and continue to live in Shenzhen.

Lower-income workers are under an extra burden after the prices of a variety of foods rose sharply.

Shenzhen's current minimum wage is 810 yuan ($107) per month within the special economic zone, and 700 yuan out of the zone. As required by the State Council, the standard should be adjusted every two years, while the Shenzhen municipal law shortened the duration to one year.

It fully respects and protects the rights of workers by bringing the adjustment period into a legal framework, but the market changes rapidly and the social situation also develops quickly. The government is obliged to take further flexible measures to maximize its protection of the people's interests.

In fact, the government has already grasped this point. The central government decided in recent days to raise the old-age pension for retirees for three years on end. Some local governments also decided to hand out extra living subsidies to residents already depending on a minimum living allowance.

What the government currently doesn't pay enough attention to are migrant workers, who live on minimum wages. Therefore, the government should break the fixed duration of adjusting the minimum wage standard and instead build up a linkage mechanism between the standard and the rising price index, which is essential to improving workers' living conditions and preventing a clash between labor and capital.