05/3/2011 | Minimum Wages in Asia
Question:
My company wants to manufacture its products in Asia, and needs to hire domestic workers. How do current minimum wage systems throughout Asia compare?
Reply:
Most countries in Asia do not have a national minimum wage. Many of them have provincial committees that set the basic wage for only one particular region. Countries with this kind of provincial system include: China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. India has a national minimum wage, but province committees generally stipulate higher minimum wages within their own territory. South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong all have nationally-set minimum wages. Singapore does not have any minimum wage laws, provincial or otherwise. Japan has the highest minimum wage at an average of 732 yen (about $9.00 USD) per hour. Vietnam has the lowest minimum wage at an average of 39,524 VND (about $1.92 USD) per day.