Provisions on Minimum Wages (Chinese and English Text)


Issuer: 
Ministry of Labor and Social Security

中文版


The following translation was retrieved from the Invest in China Web site on May 29, 2013. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Chinese central government Web site on October 30, 2006.


Promulgation Date: 2004-01-20  Promulgation Number: 2004012020040301

Ministry of Labor and Social Security

Order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the People's Republic of China No. 21

The Provisions on Minimum Wages, which were adopted at the 7th executive meeting of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on December 30, 2003, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of March 1, 2004.

Zheng Silin, the Minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security January 20, 2004

Provisions on Minimum Wages

Article 1 With a view to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the laborers in getting labor remunerations, and ensuring the basic necessities of laborers and their family members, the present Provisions are formulated according to the Labor Law and other relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 2 The present Provisions shall apply to the enterprises, private non-enterprise entities, individual industrial and commercial households with employees (hereinafter collectively referred to as employing entities) and the laborers who have formed a labor relationship with those employing entities.
The state organs, public institutions and social bodies and the laborers who have formed a labor relationship with them shall accord with the present Provisions.

Article 3 The term " standards on minimum wages" as mentioned in the present Provisions refers to the minimum labor remunerations that shall be paid by the employing entities according to law under the precondition that the laborers have provided normal labor within the promissory working hours or within the working hours as prescribed in the labor contracts concluded according to law.
The term "normal labor" as mentioned in the present Provisions refers to the labor undertaken by a laborer, pursuant to the contract concluded according to law, within the promissory working hours or within the working hours as prescribed in the contract. A laborer's enjoying paid annual vocation, home leave, marriage or funeral leave, maternity leave and conception-control operation leave and his (her) participating in any social activities during the promissory working hours shall be deemed as having offered normal labor.

Article 4 The administrative departments of labor and social security of the people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and inspection over the employing entities' fulfillment of the present Provisions within their respective administrative areas.
The labor unions of all levels shall conduct supervision over the implementation of the present Provisions according to law. Where a labor union finds that any employing entity pays employees wages in violation of the present Provisions, it shall have the power to demand the local administrative department for labor and social security to deal with the case.

Article 5 In general, the standards of minimum wages appear in two forms, namely the monthly minimum wage standard and the hourly minimum wage standard. The monthly minimum wage standard applies to full-time employees while the hourly minimum wage standard to non-fulltime employees.

Article 6 When determining and regulating the monthly minimum wage standard, one should take into consideration factors such as the minimum costs of living of the local employees and the people supported by them, the urban residents' consumption price index, the social insurance premiums and the public accumulation funds for housing paid by the employee themselves, the average wage of the employees, the level of economic development, the status of employment and etc..
When determining and regulating the hourly minimum wage standard, one shall, on the basis of the announced monthly minimum wage standard, take into consideration such factors as the basic pension insurance premiums and the basic medical insurance premiums that shall be paid by the entity. In addition, one shall appropriately take into consideration the disparities between the non-fulltime laborers and the fulltime laborers in the aspects of working stability, condition, intensity and welfare, etc ..
For the specific calculating methods for the monthly minimum wage standard and the hourly minimum wage standard, please read the Attachment.

Article 7 Different administrative areas within a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government may adopt different standards of minimum wages.

Article 8 The program for determining and regulating the standards on minimum wages shall be formulated by the administrative department of labor and social security of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government in consultation with the labor union, the league of enterprises (or the association of entrepreneurs) at the same level, which shall be reported and submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Such a program shall include the basis, applicable scope, drawn-out standards and explanations on the determination and regulation of the minimum wages. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security shall, after receiving the program, collect opinions of the China Labor Union and the China League of Enterprises (or the China Association of Entrepreneurs).
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security may provide advice on the revision of the program. If it fails to provide any advice on revision within 14 days from the day when it receives the program, it shall be deemed as having granted consent.

Article 9 The administrative department of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall report its program on the standards on minimum wages applicable in their respective areas to the people's government of this province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, and shall, within 7 days from the day when the program is approved, announce it through the bulletin of the local government and at least one newspaper circulated widely in the area. The administrative department of labor and social security shall report the standards on minimum wages to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security within 10 days from the day when the program is announced by the administrative department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government.

Article 10 If the related factors as prescribed in Article 6 of the present Provisions change, after the standards on minimum wages have been announced for implementation, they shall be regulated in good time. The standards on minimum wages shall be regulated at least once every two years.

Article 11 The employing entities shall, within 10 days from the day when the standards on minimum wages are announced, announce the standards to all their laborers thereof.

Article 12 In the event that a laborer has provided normal work, the wage paid by the employing entity shall, after being deducted of the following items, not be less than the local standards on minimum wages:
(1) wages paid for extra work done after the promissory working hours;
(2) allowances given for the middle shift, night shift, and for working under special environmental conditions such as high temperature, low temperature, downhole operation, venomousness and nocuousness;
(3) the welfare treatments to laborers as prescribed in the laws, regulations and by the state.
On the basis of the scientific and reasonable labor quota, an employing entity that adopts the way of paying wages by piece or by deducting a percentage, shall not pay the laborers less wages than the corresponding standard minimum wages.
In case a laborer, for his own reasons, fails to provide normal labor within the promissory working hours or within the working hours as provided for in the lawfully concluded labor contract, this Article shall not apply.

Article 13 Where an employing entity violates Article 11 of the present Provisions, it shall be ordered to make corrections by the administrative department of labor and social security. If it violates Article 12 of the present Provisions, it shall be ordered to make up the wages owing to the laborers by the administrative department of labor and social security, and may be ordered to pay laborers compensations in the sum of one to fives times of the wages owed within a time limit.

Article 14 Where there arises any dispute over the standards on minimum wages between laborers and employing entities, it shall be coped with according to the provisions on labor disputes.

Article 15 The present Provisions shall come into force as of March 1, 2004. The Provisions on Minimum Wages in Enterprises promulgated by the former Ministry of Labor on November 24, 24, 1993 shall be repealed simultaneously.

Attachment:

The Methods for Calculating Minimum Wages
1. Factors to be taken into consideration when determining the standards on Minimum Wages
When determining the standards on minimum wages, one shall generally take into consideration the following factors as the living costs of urban residents, the social insurance premiums and the public accumulation funds for housing paid by employee themselves, the average wage of the employees, the rate of unemployment and the level of economic development. The formula may be:
M = f (C, S, A, U, E, a )
M: the standards on minimum wages
C: the average living costs of urban residents;
S: the social insurance premiums and the public accumulation funds for housing paid by employee themselves;
A: the average wage of the employees;
U: the rate of unemployment;
E: the level of economic development;
a: the factors.
2. The universal methods for determining the standards of minimum wages
(1) The proportion method, that is firstly to determine a certain proportion of families with the minimum average income as poverty families in light of the investigation materials of the family livelihood of urban residents, then to calculate the average living cost of the poverty families and multiply it by the coefficient of the people supported by each employee, and finally to make the result plus an adjustment.
(2) The Engel Coefficient method, that is to calculate the minimum expense standard for food pursuant to the annual standard cookbook and the standard quantity of food taken by people as offered by the National Nutrition Academy as well as the market prices of the standard food, then to divide the minimum expense standard for food by the Engel Coefficient, thus to work out the standards on minimum living costs, to multiply the minimum living costs by the coefficient of people supported by each employee and finally to make the result plus an adjustment.
After working out the standards on monthly minimum wage by the above-mentioned methods, one shall take into consideration the following factors to make necessary amendment as the social insurance premiums paid by the employee themselves, the public accumulation funds for housing paid by the employee themselves, the average wage of the employees, social assistance grants and the standards on unemployment premiums, the status of employment and the level of economic development.
For example, if, in a certain region, the minimum monthly living cost of persons within the groups of minimum income is 210 yuan, the coefficient of the people supported by each employer is 1.87, the minimum expense for food is 127 yuan, the Engel Coefficient is 0.604, the average wage is 900 yuan.
a. By the proportion method, the standard on monthly minimum wage worked out is:
The monthly minimum wage = 210×1.87+a=393+a(yuan)(1)
b. By the method of Engel Coefficient, The monthly minimum wage worked out is:
The monthly minimum wage = 127÷0.604×1.87+a=393+a(yuan)(2)
In the formulas (1) and (2) the adjustment "a" mainly involves the expenses for the pension, unemployment and medical insurance premiums and the public accumulation funds for housing.
In addition, as it is universally considered that the monthly minimum wage is equivalent to 40-60% of the average monthly wage, the monthly minimum wage of this region shall be ranged from 360 yuan to 540 yuan.
The standard of the hourly minimum wage = {(the standard of the monthly minimum wage ÷20.92÷8)×(1+ the summation of the basic pension insurance premium and the basic medial insurance premium that shall be paid by their respective entities)}×(1+the floating coefficient)
The determination of the floating coefficient shall mainly take into consideration the disparities between the fulltime employees and the non-fulltime employees in the aspects of working stability, conditions and intensity and welfares.
Every region may rationally determine the standards on monthly and hourly minimum wages by referring to the calculating methods mentioned above and in light of the local actual circumstances.

Promulgated by Ministry of Labor and Social Security on 2004-1-20


最低工资规定

最低工资规定

劳动和社会保障部令第21号

颁布日期:20040120  实施日期:20040301  颁布单位:劳动和社会保障部

第一条 为了维护劳动者取得劳动报酬的合法权益,保障劳动者个人及其家庭成员的基本生活,根据劳动法和国务院有关规定,制定本规定。

第二条 本规定适用于在中华人民共和国境内的企业、民办非企业单位、有雇工的个体工商户(以下统称用人单位)和与之形成劳动关系的劳动者。国家机关、事业单位、社会团体和与之建立劳动合同关系的劳动者,依照本规定执行。

第三条 本规定所称最低工资标准,是指劳动者在法定工作时间或依法签订的劳动合同约定的工作时间内提供了正常劳动的前提下,用人单位依法应支付 的最低劳动报酬。本规定所称正常劳动,是指劳动者按依法签订的劳动合同约定,在法定工作时间或劳动合同约定的工作时间内从事的劳动。劳动者依法享受带薪年 休假、探亲假、婚丧假、生育(产)假、节育手术假等国家规定的假期间,以及法定工作时间内依法参加社会活动期间,视为提供了正常劳动。

第四条 县级以上地方人民政府劳动保障行政部门负责对本行政区域内用人单位执行本规定情况进行监督检查。各级工会组织依法对本规定执行情况进行监督,发现用人单位支付劳动者工资违反本规定的,有权要求当地劳动保障行政部门处理。

第五条 最低工资标准一般采取月最低工资标准和小时最低工资标准的形式。月最低工资标准适用于全日制就业劳动者,小时最低工资标准适用于非全日制就业劳动者。

第六条 确定和调整月最低工资标准,应参考当地就业者及其赡养人口的最低生活费用、城镇居民消费价格指数、职工个人缴纳的社会保险费和住房公积 金、职工平均工资、经济发展水平、就业状况等因素。确定和调整小时最低工资标准,应在颁布的月最低工资标准的基础上,考虑单位应缴纳的基本养老保险费和基 本医疗保险费因素,同时还应适当考虑非全日制劳动者在工作稳定性、劳动条件和劳动强度、福利等方面与全日制就业人员之间的差异。月最低工资标准和小时最低 工资标准具体测算方法见附件。

第七条 省、自治区、直辖市范围内的不同行政区域可以有不同的最低工资标准。

第八条 最低工资标准的确定和调整方案,由省、自治区、直辖市人民政府劳动保障行政部门会同同级工会、企业联合会/企业家协会研究拟订,并将拟 订的方案报送劳动保障部。方案内容包括最低工资确定和调整的依据、适用范围、拟订标准和说明。劳动保障部在收到拟订方案后,应征求全国总工会、中国企业联 合会/企业家协会的意见。劳动保障部对方案可以提出修订意见,若在方案收到后14日内未提出修订意见的,视为同意。

第九条 省、自治区、直辖市劳动保障行政部门应将本地区最低工资标准方案报省、自治区、直辖市人民政府批准,并在批准后7日内在当地政府公报上和至少一种全地区性报纸上发布。省、自治区、直辖市劳动保障行政部门应在发布后10日内将最低工资标准报劳动保障部。

第十条 最低工资标准发布实施后,如本规定第六条所规定的相关因素发生变化,应当适时调整。最低工资标准每两年至少调整一次。

第十一条 用人单位应在最低工资标准发布后10日内将该标准向本单位全体劳动者公示。

第十二条 在劳动者提供正常劳动的情况下,用人单位应支付给劳动者的工资在剔除下列各项以后,不得低于当地最低工资标准:

(一)延长工作时间工资;

(二)中班、夜班、高温、低温、井下、有毒有害等特殊工作环境、条件下的津贴;

(三)法律、法规和国家规定的劳动者福利待遇等。

实行计件工资或提成工资等工资形式的用人单位,在科学合理的劳动定额基础上,其支付劳动者的工资不得低于相应的最低工资标准。

劳动者由于本人原因造成在法定工作时间内或依法签订的劳动合同约定的工作时间内未提供正常劳动的,不适用于本条规定。

第十三条 用人单位违反本规定第十一条规定的,由劳动保障行政部门责令其限期改正;违反本规定第十二条规定的,由劳动保障行政部门责令其限期补发所欠劳动者工资,并可责令其按所欠工资的1至5倍支付劳动者赔偿金。

第十四条 劳动者与用人单位之间就执行最低工资标准发生争议,按劳动争议处理有关规定处理。

第十五条 本规定自2004年3月1日起实施。1993年11月24日原劳动部发布的《企业最低工资规定》同时废止。