THE minimum wage in Shenzhen will rise to 1,500 yuan (US$238) per month, or 13.3 yuan per hour, starting tomorrow.

    The hike will make Shenzhen’s minimum wage the highest on the Chinese mainland.

    The overtime wage will rise accordingly. According to the law, the payment for overtime work is 1.5 times the regular wage during the week, twice the regular wage on weekends and three times the regular wage on public holidays. That means the employers have to pay at least 138 yuan for a day’s work on weekends, and at least 207 yuan for a day’s work on public holidays.

    The minimum pension premium, which is 18 percent of the minimum wage, will also rise. According to the new minimum wage standard, each Shenzhener will pay at least 270 yuan of pension premium a month, of which 150 yuan will be paid by the employer and 120 yuan will be paid by the employee himself.

    Employers that pay below the minimum wage are subject to fines from 30,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan, according to the law.

    Shenzhen usually hikes its minimum wage after April. The human resources and social security bureau said the hike would happen two months earlier in 2012 to “give a signal to the workers and help employers make earlier budget plans.”

    (Helen Deng)