On 30 April 2024, the Hong Kong government announced significant changes to the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) review mechanism, marking the first substantial update since its introduction 13 years ago.
This change follows a comprehensive study conducted in January 2023 to enhance protection for grassroots employees.
The government seeks to balance fair wages and economic stability, ensuring that the lowest-paid workers benefit from economic prosperity without compromising job security.
At a recent meeting organised by the Mexican Senate and the ILO Office for Mexico and Cuba, meaningful discussions unfolded regarding the ratification of ILO Convention 156, which aims to establish equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with family responsibilities.
This event underscored Mexican legislators' commitment to tackling the challenges and reaping the benefits of formalising support for workers with family responsibilities.
On 13 March 2024, the ILO’s Governing Body endorsed the agreement.
It emphasises the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in achieving living wages, advocating for wage-setting processes that reflect ILO principles, the diverse needs of workers, and economic realities.
On 29 June 2023, Eurofound published a new research report on Minimum Wages in 2023.
The report analyses gross statutory minimum wages valid in 2023 in a highly inflationary environment and maps wage levels in collective agreements for some low-paid workers in countries without a statutory minimum wage, comparing wage trends and longer-term trends in labor productivity.
It also examines the early impacts of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages.
The Minister of Employment and Labour, effective from 1 March 2023, increased the minimum earnings threshold of ZAR 241110.59 per annum and the national minimum wage of ZAR 25.42 per hour worked.
They increased, respectively, by 7.6 and 9.6 per cent.
In a new report, Adecco, in collaboration with Ius Laboris, analysed the wages of Adecco associates from 17 countries compared to national minimum wages.
It shows that agency work can be a model for the flexibility workers and businesses look for in this digital age of rapid economic change, allowing agency workers to make a decent living.
The paper also looks into the concept of wage and wage setting more generally in these times of inflation.
The Indonesian Government issued a regulation to revoke and replace the Job Creation Law (that we previously reported here), introducing some important changes in outsourcing arrangements and minimum wage requirements.