Wages are payments in monetary terms for labor performed by an employer or legal entity in accordance with the law, industry regulations, or the agreement between the employer and the employee. Wages can be calculated in different forms, such as hourly, monthly and annual wages. In China, the following expenses borne by the employer or paid to the employee are not wages: (1) social insurance premiums; (2) labor protection expenses; (3) welfare expenses; (4) lump-sum compensation paid upon termination of the labor relationship; (5) family planning expenses; and (6) other expenses that do not belong to wages. In political economy, wages are essentially the value or price of labor. Wages are an important part of the cost of production. The legal minimum amount of wages is called the minimum wage, and there are various divisions of wages such as pre-tax wages, after-tax wages, and incentive wages. In political economy, capital is essentially the value or price of labor.
Legal Basis: The Labor Law of the People's Republic of China Article 48 The State implements a system of guaranteed minimum wages. The specific standards for minimum wages shall be prescribed by the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and reported to the State Council for the record. The wages paid to workers by employers shall not be less than the local minimum wage standard.
The Labor Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 46 Wage distribution shall follow the principle of distribution according to work, and equal pay for equal work shall be implemented. The level of wages shall be raised gradually on the basis of economic development. The State exercises macro-control over the total amount of wages.
Article 48 The State shall implement a system of guaranteed minimum wages. The specific standards for minimum wages shall be prescribed by the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and reported to the State Council for the record. The wages paid to workers by employers shall not be less than the local minimum wage standard.