Putting "vigorously boost consumption, improve investment efficiency, and expand domestic demand in all aspects" first, the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2024 proposed to vigorously boost consumption. On March 16, the highly-watched "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption" was announced.

The first item of the plan is the "Action for Promoting Urban and Rural Residents' Income Increase", which proposes to promote the reasonable growth of wage income, improve the minimum wage standard adjustment mechanism, and scientifically and reasonably increase the minimum wage standard.

During this year's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the "Report on the Implementation of the 2024 National Economic and Social Development Plan and the Draft of the 2025 National Economic and Social Development Plan" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission proposed to appropriately accelerate the raising of the minimum wage standard, and in principle, all provinces must adjust it in 2025.

On March 17, Su Hainan, a special researcher at the Chinese Labor Society, said in an interview with Red Star News that in a company, the increase in wage levels of low-wage jobs will drive the entire company's salary level to rise. The increase in salary will not only increase residents' income, but also increase people's confidence, which will have a positive impact on consumption. At present, it is necessary to implement the minimum wage standard adjustment mechanism, while ensuring scientific and reasonable calculations, accurate and moderate.

Non-public enterprises

Can promote reasonable wage growth through collective wage negotiations

How to promote reasonable wage growth?

Su Hainan said that the first thing is to do is to create an environment conducive to the production and operation of enterprises. On this basis, the minimum wage standard should be reasonably raised, and the development of small and micro enterprises should be vigorously promoted to solve the employment problem.

From the wage growth mechanism, Su Hainan analyzed that non-public enterprises can promote reasonable wage growth through collective wage negotiations; large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises with good economic benefits can reasonably increase wages in low-income positions and even wages for all employees of enterprises based on the increase in total wages.

Su Hainan said that most companies will increase the wage level of low-wage positions in their enterprises according to the minimum wage standard, which will naturally bring benefits to workers in these positions in the company; and the increase in their salary will also increase the income of workers in middle and high positions, thereby promoting a moderate increase in the salary level of the entire company.

Su Jian, director of the Center for National Economic Research at Peking University, introduced to Hongxing News that in economics, the minimum wage standard can protect the rights and interests of low-income people on the one hand, but on the other hand, it may reduce the actual employment needs of enterprises. Low-income people have low bargaining power in the market, and implementing a minimum wage standard can protect their rights. When the economy is improving, the minimum wage standard has little impact on the employment market; when the economy is down, excessive minimum wage standard may suppress the employment demand of enterprises.

Many provinces have announced the hike of the minimum wage standard

Experts believe that precise control is needed to ensure moderate

The "Minimum Wage Regulations" issued by the former Ministry of Labor and Social Security, which clearly states that the minimum wage standard is adjusted at least once every two years. In 2015, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security proposed in a document on the minimum wage standard that in the future, the minimum wage standard will be adjusted from at least once every two years to at least once every two years to at least once every two years to three years.

Since the end of last year, some provinces have announced the hike of the minimum wage standard. At the end of last year, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other places issued notices of the increase in the minimum wage standard. At the beginning of this year, Fujian, Shanxi, Guizhou and other places also issued relevant policies. Red Star News found that most regions have adopted a frequency of adjustment every three years.

For example, on February 14 this year, Guangdong announced the adjustment of the minimum wage standard. Starting from March 1, the monthly minimum wages in Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be adjusted to 2,500 yuan and 2,520 yuan respectively, and other regions will be adjusted in four levels (the highest increase is 180 yuan). Guangdong's last adjustment was December 1, 2021.

Su Hainan believes that the minimum wage standards in various places still have room for upward adjustment, and the reason why we need to "accelerate the increase appropriately" is because the economic situation has changed. In recent years, due to various factors, the speed of adjusting the minimum wage standard in various places has slowed down. At present, for the purpose of promoting consumption and taking into account the steady development of enterprise production and operation, some objective conditions for raising the minimum wage standard have been met, and localities have begun to adjust the minimum wage standard one after another.

There is a set of adjustment mechanisms for the minimum wage standard. In the view of Jiangsu and Hainan, the most important thing now is to implement the minimum wage standard adjustment mechanism in accordance with existing laws and regulations. On the other hand, "scientific and reasonable" is very important, and relevant data calculations need to be carried out, such as the increase in prices and the speed of local economic development, so as to provide a sufficient, scientific and reasonable basis for the adjustment of the minimum wage standard. In order to balance the rights and interests of workers and the employment burden of small and medium-sized enterprises, precise control is needed to ensure moderate.

Red Star News Reporter Hu Yiwen Intern Zhang Haorui Report Beijing