Labour and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun on Monday brushed aside concerns that a new mechanism for setting the statutory minimum wage was unfair to employers.

Earlier this month, the Executive Council approved recommendations to review the minimum wage annually instead of every two years. There would also be a new formula for calculating the hourly pay rate, which bars any reduction.

At a Legislative Council panel meeting, lawmakers representing the business sector said the new mechanism only focuses on employees and gives workers the false hope of an annual pay rise.

Sun, in response, said there is a need to help 17,000 low-income workers, who only account for 0.6 percent of the workforce.

"They have very little bargaining power under the market mechanism. There are a lot of constraints on these workers, be it their abilities and other reasons, it is difficult for them to earn a decent pay," he said.

"We want to reassure them that their wages would only go up rather than down. If they have to worry about the prospects of a wage cut, then it would add to their plight."