Most provinces raise minimum wage in 2011

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

In 2011, 24 provinces in China raised their minimum wage by an average of 22 percent, and 31 provinces in the country carried out salary surveys on a trial basis, Yin Weimin, head of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, recently said in a statement.

Shenzhen in Guangdong province raised its minimum monthly wage by nearly 14 percent from 1,320 yuan to 1,500 yuan on Feb. 1, making the city’s minimum wage the highest in the country. About 1.5 million workers in Shenzhen will benefit from the new wage standards.

Shanghai will also raise its minimum monthly wage on April 1, in a bid to promote wage growth among front-line workers, especially among public service workers such as sanitation workers.

According to the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, Qingdao has raised its minimum wage 10 times since the introduction of the minimum wage in the city in 1995.

At present, Qingdao plans to raise the minimum monthly wage for workers in the seven districts and five cities under its jurisdiction from 610 yuan and 540 yuan to 1,100 yuan and 950 yuan respectively. Qingdao will raise its minimum wage by an average of over 13 percent during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015).