HK raises domestic helper monthly salary by just Rs 1,960

Foreign domestic helpers, including Sri Lankans, will get a mere HK$ 100 (Rs 1,960) more with their monthly pay packet in Hong Kong from this weekend.

The Hong Kong Government announced on Friday, the mandatory monthly minimum wage has been raised from HK$ 4,310 to HK$ 4,410. It represents a meagre 2.3 percent increase for the majority of helpers who work an average 12 hours day, six days week. This year’s pay increase was below the rate of increase in September last year, which was 2.4%.

Such miserly pay adjustments are also not uncommon in the corporate sector, where companies rake in billions in annual profit.

This new basic salary for helpers applies to contracts signed from Saturday.

Migrant groups advocating the interests of foreign domestic helpers have been demanding a minimum monthly salary of HK$ 5,500 and a food allowance of HK$ 2,500.

But there are employers who pay their helpers more than the minimum salary.

A recent survey confirmed what was a well- known secret in Hong Kong.

A survey by Helper Choice revealed that in some districts, employers – Chinese and foreigners – pay an average HK$ 5,195 a month. Higher pay is related to the experience of the helper concerned, not necessarily generosity. It also depends on the responsibilities they have to undertake in the household, such as looking after the elderly and even dogs.

South Asian employers including Bangladeshis and Indians are not known to pay even the minimum, although there are exceptions. Many South Asians in Hong Kong employ Sri Lankan domestic helpers.

A search of online recruiters shows that there are experienced Sri Lankan helpers who seek a sal- ary upwards of HK$ 6,000. One site lists a driver, who expects HK$ 14,000 a month.

Employers of domestic helpers in Hong Kong are required by law to provide free food, but they may also offer an allowance for meals instead.

The food allowance was also increased by HK$ 16, or 1.5 percent, from HK$ 1,037 to HK$ 1,053 per month. The meal allowance is not much in costly Hong Kong, where a palm- sized bowl of beef noodles could cost HK$ 40 (Rs 740). But in some popular fast food restaurants, a hearty breakfast of New Zealand hoki fish fillet with scrambled eggs, a thick piece of toast, and milk tea, would cost no more than HK$ 40. Such meals are popular with hundreds of thousands of office workers, who often prefer fast food.

There are more than 193,680 Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, along with 156,569 Indonesian helpers. They are the two dominant groups. But now, Hong Kong is wooing China’s allies in the neighbourhood, Cambodia and Vietnam, to bring in women to work in Chinese households. Already an agreement has been signed with Cambodia to bring in the first batch. The Government is trying to reduce its dependence on traditional sources – Filipinos and Indonesians.

This subtle tactic will also close down job opportunities for South Asians, including Sri Lankans.

Sri Lankan helpers, the breadwinners of an indebted country, are also exploited and ripped off by job agents registered in the Foreign Employment Bureau, whose board is heavily loaded with agents. They often advertise on TV and print media dangling unreal salaries and bogus benefits. They charge each recruit more than Rs 350,000 although such fees are illegal. Under Hong Kong law, a domestic helper needs to only pay 10 percent of the monthly salary as a one- off recruitment fee.