The municipal government of Beijing advocates an overall pay rise for employees of local enterprises to tackle the ongoing price rise.

The annual medium pay rise level this year is proposed to be 11.5 percent and the maximum level is 16.5 percent, both 2 percent higher over last year.

The guideline, issued by the local Labor and Social Securities Department on Tuesday, serves as a reference for enterprises and is not obligatory.

Even enterprises in the red should offer at least 3.5 percent increase in salary, the statement said.

The statement also indicated that pay rises should be implemented from bottom to top, so as to guarantee the rights and interests of low-ranking employees.

Zero-growth or even decrease of salary, in case of huge deficits, must get the nod of the enterprise' labor union or representatives of employees. And monthly pay must not be less than 730 yuan, the minimum wage in the city.

Last year, Beijing reported average annual wage of 39,867 yuan (US$ 5,750), with a year-on-year growth of 10.44 percent.