Social workers at non-profit organizations in Xiamen city now earn a monthly wage of 5,250 yuan ($840) on average, taihainet.com said citing official document on March 3.

The wages, with lowest being around 4,000 yuan, vary due to many factors including a professional’s education background, work performance, occupation and work experience, said the document jointly issued by the municipal civil bureau, financial bureau and the bureau of human resources and social security.

The issuance of the latest wage standard for NGO social workers is to guarantee their income can keep up with that of technicians with the same qualification who work outside NGOs.

There are currently 2,069 licensed social workers at 24 NGOs provide social work service in Xiamen, official figures showed.

The Xiamen government plans to purchase social work service from those NGOs to meet different needs of the public, according to the document.