Hong Kong lawmakers have given final approval for the city's first minimum wage, but critics say it is too low for many low-income people struggling to make ends meet in the financial hub. The city's Legislative Council ushered in the new law by a vote of 44 to four late Wednesday night after a day-long debate, approving a pay floor of HK$28 ($3.60) per hour - well below many other international cities.
The law is scheduled to take effect May 1.
Hong Kong passed the minimum wage law in principle in July, while the government announced the proposed pay rate in November, but it still needed an official stamp of approval from the city's law-making body.
The controversial issue has divided business and labour groups for more than a decade, with business groups warning that a wage floor would lead to widespread job losses among poor workers. The southern Chinese financial hub is famous for its stunningly wealthy tycoons whose business empires span all sectors of Hong Kong's economy and the world.
But the densely populated city of seven million is also home to hundreds of thousands of workers who live on hourly wages sometimes as low as $2 an hour.
Concern about Hong Kong's growing income gap - which the UN Development Programme in 2009 pegged as the world's biggest among wealthy economies - prompted the government to introduce a wage floor.
A heated debate on Wednesday saw several lawmakers lash out at the new pay rate, saying it was too low. "At HK$28, this is a victory with regrets," said Lee Cheuk-yan, a union legislator. Radical lawmaker Raymond Wong said the new pay rate would fail to cover basic living expenses, which have been rising sharply in the city.