What Is the Difference Between Minimum Wage and Living Wage?

The minimum wage standard refers to the minimum labor remuneration payable by an employer in accordance with the law on the premise that an employee provides normal labor within the legal working hours or the working hours agreed in a labor contract signed in accordance with the law.

minimum wage standard

The minimum wage guarantee system is a labor and

Since the implementation of China's minimum wage system, its benefits have continued to expand, and 31 provinces and cities across the country have implemented minimum wage standards. The implementation of the minimum wage system has played an active role in protecting the labor rights and legal interests of employees, and is conducive to preventing and reducing the occurrence of deductions from workers' wages. It is also conducive to implementing the principle of giving priority to efficiency and considering fairness to maintain social stability. The wage system provides a legal basis for the labor remuneration part of the labor relationship, is conducive to the correct determination of the labor relationship, and also provides a basis for enterprises to do a good job of internal distribution. The implementation of the minimum wage system provides a legal basis for deepening the reform of the internal wage system of enterprises, and also provides a basis for accelerating the reform of the wage system of state organs and institutions. The determination and adjustment of the minimum wage standard is conducive to the government's role in macro-control. It is also conducive to building a harmonious society.

As of September 2018, the monthly minimum wages in the six provinces of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang exceeded 2,000 yuan. Among them, the monthly minimum wage in Shanghai reached 2420 yuan, the highest in the country. In terms of hourly minimum wages, the hourly minimum wages in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong exceed the 20-yuan mark. Among them, Beijing has the highest hourly minimum wage at 24 yuan. ^[6]

The main problem with minimum wages is that

The minimum wage security system is a labor and social security system in China. The Minimum Wage Provisions [Decree of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the People's Republic of China (No. 21)] was promulgated on December 30, 2003.

I. The minimum wage standard is the minimum labor remuneration paid to laborers by a few employers who have difficulty in production and operation, decline in economic benefits, and do not have the ability to pay normal wages (who cannot normally pay wages for more than three consecutive months). Employers with the ability to pay shall not use the minimum wage as the normal wage payment standard.

2. If the employer needs to pay wages according to the minimum wage standard, it shall perform necessary democratic procedures and report to the labor security administrative department at the same level in advance for the record. The labor security department shall include the employers that implement the minimum wage standard into the key monitoring scope, strengthen follow-up inspections, and effectively protect the basic labor compensation rights of workers. After the employer resumes normal production and operation, it shall promptly restore or raise wages.

3. During the period of probation, apprenticeship, proficiency or apprenticeship, the facts of the labor relationship between the employer and the laborer have been established, and the minimum wage regulations apply.

4. The statutory annual leave, family visit leave, marriage leave, bereavement leave and maternity leave, breastfeeding leave and other holidays are the rest rights granted to workers by law, and they shall be regarded as providing normal labor, and the minimum wage shall apply.

5. If the state or province has clear stipulations on the relevant labor quota standards, the employer shall strictly calculate the wages of the employees in accordance with the labor quota standards. If there is no relevant labor quota standard for the time being, the employer must determine the labor quota scientifically and reasonably, and then determine the basic unit price and the excess unit price. The basic piece rate shall be determined according to the normal amount of labor that can be performed by the vast majority of workers within the legal working hours. Workers who provide normal labor and whose wages are calculated based on the basic piece rate shall not be lower than the minimum wage.

6. The following items shall be paid separately by the employer in addition to the minimum wage standard:

(1) Extending overtime and wages;

(2) Allowances for special working environments and conditions such as middle shift, night shift, high temperature, low temperature, underground, poisonous and harmful;

(3) Welfare benefits to be enjoyed by workers in laws, regulations and national and provincial regulations. It mainly includes: training costs for workers; expenses and supplies issued to workers in accordance with national labor safety and health regulations, and work supplies (such as work clothes) specified by employers; and by employers in accordance with national housing system reform regulations Housing provident fund for laborers; medical and health expenses, funeral pensions, family visits, family planning subsidies, subsidies for living difficulties, winter heating subsidies, heatstroke prevention and cooling fees, etc. paid by employers for workers.

7. Social insurance premiums paid by employers in accordance with law, and non-monetary income paid through subsidized meals, housing, or provided to workers, shall not be deducted from the minimum wage standard.