Migrant domestic workers demand 21% wage hike to HK$6,172, reject calls for pay freeze

Domestic workers called for an increase in their Minimum Allowable Wage from HK$5,100 to HK$6,172 at a rally outside the Labour Department on Friday.

The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) also called for an increase in the monthly food allowance from HK$1,236 to HK$3,123. Employers must provide free meals or pay the food allowance set by the Labour Department for their domestic workers, which works out to around HK$41 per day.

“Increasing our wage will ensure we can cope with the unending inflation in Hong Kong, which heavily impacts the majority of [domestic workers] who are striving to live decently and with dignity,” spokesperson Sringatin said, according to a Friday press release. Some Indonesians go by only one name.

“Since 2000, the Minimum Allowable Wage has only increased from HK$3,670 per month to the current HK$5,100 – a cumulative increase of just 39% (HK$1,430) spanning 25 years. This is an incredibly low wage for a territory that proudly brands itself as ‘Asia’s World City,'” she added.

Long hours, job insecurity

The coalition, the city’s largest group of migrant worker unions and associations, said that domestic workers have provided “round-the-clock household and caregiving support for children and the elderly” for decades, enabling double-income households.

The group rejected claims from employer groups that wage hikes would trigger mass layoffs and pushed back on calls for a pay freeze. The AMCB said that the care services that domestic workers provide are “irreplaceable,” with some of their earnings recycled back into the local economy.

In August, a petition by the International Domestic Service Industry Development Federation and the Quadripartite Alliance for Harmonious Employment Practices (QAHEP) called for a domestic worker wage freeze. The QAHEP released a survey suggesting that 97 per cent of employers were “strongly opposed” to pay rises for their domestic workers.

The AMCB also cited “job insecurity, excessively long working hours, heightened vulnerability to abuse due to the mandatory live-in arrangement, and ongoing exploitation by erring recruitment agencies.”

By law, domestic workers must live with their employers – a situation advocacy groups argue can enable abuse.

Sringatin added: “We will continue the fight for a living wage, full legal protection, and decent working conditions until these deep-seated issues are resolved.”

Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Make a one-off donation.

Tom founded Hong Kong Free Press in 2015 as the city's first crowdfunded newspaper. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He previously founded an NGO advocating for domestic worker rights, and has contributed to the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Al-Jazeera and others.

Tom leads HKFP – raising funds, managing the team and navigating risk – whilst regularly speaking on press freedom, ethics and media funding at industry events, schools and conferences around the world.