Hong Kong rejects minimum wage cut for foreign domestic helpers
Hong Kong rejects minimum wage cut for foreign domestic helpers
Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong
Hong Kong's government on Thursday bowed to pressure from
Indonesia and the Philippines and announced it would not go ahead
with a proposed cut in the minimum wage for foreign domestic
helpers.
A government spokesman said the minimum monthly wage of
HK$3,670 (US$470) would remain in place for the time being but
could be reviewed if economic conditions continued to
deteriorate.
"In view of the uncertainty surrounding the local economic and
employment situation, we shall assess whether a further review
will be required when up-to-date data, which reflect more recent
economic trends, are available," a government spokesman said.
The government has spent the last month considering proposals
to cut the minimum wage. Some legislators had argued for a cut by
as much as 20 percent to reflect the backdrop of rising
unemployment and falling or frozen wages in other sectors.
Senior diplomats from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and
Nepal had all urged Hong Kong not to implement the proposed cut.
Money sent home by maids and other helpers has a major impact on
the economies of the Philippines and Indonesia, the biggest
suppliers of helpers to Hong Kong.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo had appealed personally to
the Hong Kong authorities not to proceed with the proposed cut.
Groups representing the domestic workers welcomed the
government's decision but an employers' body was less happy.
"Decency and fair play triumphed today," the Philippine
Consulate said in a statement.
"It has been our position that the economic indicators in the
year 2001 do not warrant a decrease in minimum wage," a spokesman
for the consulate said.
"Beyond economics, we have appealed to those calling for
reduction to consider the moral dimension of the issue -- that
the poorest of the poor must not be the first to be sacrificed in
times of an economic downturn," he said.
The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, which spearheaded a
series of protests against any cut in the minimum wage, said in a
statement: "This is a victory not only for migrants but for all
working peoples in Hong Kong."
A total of 233,110 foreign domestic workers are employed in
the territory, with Filipinos accounting for some 67 percent or
155,330 of these. Indonesians number 66,970, Thais 6,940 and
other nationals 3,870.