A rising tide does not always lift all boats.
Thanks to the introduction of the city's first statutory minimum hourly wage of HK$28 in May, the earnings of the lowest-paid workers have been pushed up, especially those in the catering industry.
But contrary to warnings by employers groups that businesses would be hit hard by a 'ripple effect' - that wages of workers already earning more than the minimum amount would also rise sharply - a survey has found the wages of such workers have not increased at all.
Some workers have also left the catering industry to opt for jobs perceived to be easier, such as security guards or cleaners.
The survey of 519 workers in September by the People's Alliance for Minimum Wage found the median wage increase for workers who earned less than HK$28 an hour before the implementation of the wage floor was 14.5 per cent.
But for workers earning between HK$28 and HK$33 an hour before May, the median was 1.7 per cent. Workers who received an hourly wage of HK$33 or more did not receive a rise at all.
