BEIJING, MAY 1 -- How much can a Hong Kong worker earn a month?

    The answer is from as low as a few hundred dollars to millions, and even more.

    Workers know it's illogical to have a ceiling on salary, but most of them want there to be a bottomline.

    A Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions survey shows about 85 per cents workers want the SAR government to implement an active minimum-wage system as soon as possible.

    The federation too backed the idea, saying: "It will regulate employer practices and protect workers' interest in a standardized way."

    The system also won the backing of unionist legislators, who have called for a minimum wage law to help workers from being exploited.

    Such a system appears to be imminent for sectors featuring relatively low-added values and heavy workload.

    More than 70 per cent of the 1,300 people covered by the survey want the system to be piloted on the cleaning services sector.

    But some academics pointed to the negative side of having a minimum wage law. They warned that it could force workers to either lose their jobs or not be employed in the first place, adding to Hong Kong's jobless problem.

    The survey also found workers overwhelmingly supported the eight-hour working regime.

    More than 94 per cent think it to be ideal, and suggested that it be made the standard working time for all in the territory.

    "Many of our members believe that the problem of working overtime and long hours is serious or very serious in Hong Kong, amounting to a significant 84 per cent," said a representative of the federation.

    About 70 per cent of respondents also said that their wages had been frozen this year. The federation urged employers to increase their salaries because the local economy had seen a marked improvement in recent months.

(Source: China Daily HK Eidtion)