Opinion | Can Hong Kong employers help low-income workers have a life worth living?

This was more than just having access to housing, food and clothing, said the six researchers – most of whom are affiliated with Singapore’s top two universities – but one that “enables a sense of belonging, respect, security and independence” and includes the option to participate in social and religious activities. They said their findings suggested a reasonable starting point for a socially acceptable living wage was $2,906 (US$2,157) per month.

With the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating inequality and worsening poverty, there’s an imperative for governments and businesses to come together and help all workers attain a living wage – defined as earnings that help individuals meet a decent standard of living beyond subsistence needs.

In Hong Kong’s case, amid efforts to address poverty, employers should make living wage commitments part of their corporate sustainability initiatives,. They can pledge to pay such a wage to employees and ensure that outsourced workers managed by vendors receive the same.

The Hong Kong stock exchange could also seek disclosure of living wage policies in its Environmental, Social and Governance reporting guidelines for listed companies. This is a cause the city’s pro-establishment union, the Federation of Trade Unions, should take up, since it recently urged the government to do more to revamp its poverty alleviation measures.

Anti-poverty group Oxfam’s Hong Kong office has for the past few years advocated for a living wage policy, pointing to successful campaigns in Britain and legislation in US cities that require employers to pay living wages to employees in certain sectors such as cleaning.