Hong Kong increases domestic helpers’ monthly minimum wage by 2.2% to HK$5,100

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong will have their monthly minimum salary increased by 2.2 per cent to HK$5,100 (US$655) for employment contracts signed on or after Tuesday, the government has announced.

But the monthly food allowance would remain unchanged at no less than HK$1,236 if their employers chose not to provide free food, it added on Monday.

The announcement came after a local employers’ group earlier called for a freeze on the minimum salaries of domestic helpers amid the economic slowdown, even as some unions representing the workers asked for a pay rise of up to 30 per cent, to HK$6,500 a month.

A government spokesman said the administration regularly reviewed the monthly wage for domestic helpers to ensure it was “commensurate with Hong Kong’s economic and labour market conditions”.

The decision to increase the monthly salary from the current HK$4,990 by 2.2 per cent was based on a basket of factors, including Hong Kong’s general economic performance and labour market conditions over the past year, the near-term economic outlook and employers’ affordability.

The basic living needs of helpers and the views of different stakeholders were also taken into consideration, the spokesman added.