Shaping living wage agenda: Asia-Pacific's call to action

ASIA and the Pacific is home to the world’s largest workforce. In recent years, the region has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with real wages (inflation-adjusted pay) continuing to rise even as they declined in many other parts of the world.

- By Kaori Nakamura

But this only tells part of the story. Different countries have very different wage dynamics, and within the region there are still 1.3 billion vulnerable workers — including women, migrants, workers with disabilities and those in informal jobs — struggling with low pay, poor working conditions and rising costs of living. An increase in average wages does not automatically translate into higher purchasing power for these workers and, even when it does, it may still fall short of ensuring a decent standard of living.

Minimum wages, which are legally binding wage floors, are designed to protect workers against unduly low pay. They are adjusted from time to time but often do not automatically guarantee a minimum standard of living or provide remuneration sufficient to meet the needs of workers and their families. This is where the concept of a living wage becomes transformative, shifting the focus to whether workers earn enough to afford a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. It is rooted in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Constitution and consistent with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A living wage can be achieved through inclusive wage-setting processes based on social dialogue between the Government, employers and workers, and collective bargaining, while also addressing the root causes of low pay.