Shanghai, Beijing raise minimum monthly wages
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-01 19:01

China has raised minimum wages in its capital Beijing and commercial hub Shanghai an average of 45 yuan (US$5, euro4), the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

Shanghai's new minimum wage rose from 635 yuan (US$77, euro63) to 690 yuan (US$83, euro69), Xinhua said. Wages in Beijing rose from 545 yuan (US$66, euro55) to 580 yuan (US$70, euro58), it said.

Minimum hourly wages for part-time workers were also raised, from 5.5 yuan (US$0.66, euro0.55) to 6 yuan (US$0.73, euro0.60) in Shanghai and from 6.8 yuan (US$0.82, euro0.68) to 7.3 yuan (US$0.88, euro0.73) in Beijing.

Beijing raised monthly pensions for former state enterprise workers by about 10 percent to an average of 120 yuan (US$15, euro12), the report said.

Xinhua said the increases would take effect Friday and cover all people employed in the cities, including migrant workers and casual laborers employed by private industrial and commercial firms.

Despite the minimum wage, actual salaries for migrant workers are often well below those levels, and offer little or no job security.

China has no national minimum wage, a reflection of the great income disparities between the more developed cities along the coast and the vast impoverished hinterland.

Xinhua did not say what prompted the increases.

Despite a massive pool of labor, factories in parts of southern and eastern China have had difficulty attracting workers due to low salaries and poor working conditions.

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