Hong Kong workers receive lowest pay rises in four years

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Hong Kong workers received an average pay rise of 0.6 per cent in the first 10 months of this year - the lowest rise in four years, a survey revealed Thursday. The survey by the Institute of Human Resource Management , which is Hong Kong's largest professional human resource association, showed pay rises were 3.3 percentage points lower than the 3.9-per-cent rises awarded in 2008. The survey tracked 103 companies employing 135,000 workers from January to October. Of these, 36 per cent gave employers pay rises while the remainder chose to freeze pay as the global recession hit Hong Kong. Annual bonuses, traditionally paid at the end of the year, were also expected to fall to their lowest level in seven years with the average payout predicted at 1.09 months of pay compared with 1.57 months of pay the year before. Lai Kam-tong, co-chairman of the institute, said that during the period of uncertainty brought about by the economic crisis, companies fighting to survive were choosing to reward employees delivering outstanding performance. 'Moving away from the traditional pay system towards a pay-for-performance model will help build a fair and motivating reward strategy, more pay for employees when the enterprise succeeds and a more sustainable base-cost structure in leaner times to mitigate the impact of any downturns,' Lai said. Lai said companies were expected to remain prudent with pay adjustments next year. However, most business sectors were forecasting better pay rises to come with the average being 2 per cent next year.