Recruiting in China

BEIJING: Minimum wages in China will be increased this year to offset the sharp rise in food prices that has particularly hurt low-income families, state media reported on Friday, citing the labour ministry.

Local governments must raise minimum wages before the end of 2007 in regions where salaries have risen slowly or are markedly lower than the average, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

"Local governments must adjust minimum wages in a timely manner and ensure that real standards do not fall with the consumer price index going up," the ministry said.

China's inflation rate rose 3.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, above the government's annual target of 3.0 per cent, but food prices have accelerated at a much faster pace.

In a circular cited by Xinhua, the labour ministry said low-income families were particularly feeling the heat after meat and poultry prices jumped by 26.5 per cent in May and the cost of eggs rose 37.1 per cent.

Premier Wen Jiabao also warned in late May that the rising price of pork, the most commonly eaten meat in China, could threaten social stability.

In China, minimum wage standards vary from region to region. At the end of last year, southern China's Shenzhen city had the highest minimum wage in the country at 810 yuan ($105) per month, while eastern Jiangxi province was bottom with a salary of 270 yuan, Xinhua said.