The minimum monthly wage for workers in the capital will edge up to 900 yuan a month in July after languishing at 800 yuan since 2008, but some of the city's poorest people are complaining that the move will not help them.

"The minimum wage in Beijing will be raised by more than 10 percent above what it is now, which is 800 yuan per month, and the new standard will go into effect in July," said Gui Sheng, deputy director general of the Beijing bureau of human resources and social security.

Gui was answering queries about the change during an online session on Wednesday.

Wang Yan, director of the labor relations department in the Beijing bureau of human resources and social security, said the 800 yuan minimum was not adjusted in 2009.

Wang said the authorities would also be issuing wage growth guidelines for employers in Beijing this year that will favor low-income earners.

According to the minimum wage regulation in China, employers must pay employees no less than the monthly minimum and also pay social insurance and housing fund contributions.

But some employees said the legislation is not likely to have an impact on their lives.

Mao Xuemei, 42, earns a total of 1,200 yuan a month by doing two jobs. She said many people like her hold down jobs that pay less than the monthly minimum.

Mao works in a small supermarket in Chaoyang district and as an elevator attendant at a nearby residential building. She earns around 700 yuan per month from the elevator job and 500 a month from the supermarket.

"People like me don't sign contracts with employers and they pay us as little as possible, because we are eager for work. We are forgotten by the laws," she told METRO.

(China Daily April 2, 2010)