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| AMCB and local support groups raise fist in protest at call for wage freeze |
An alliance of migrant workers from
different countries has repeated a call for a minimum wage of HK$6,172 for all
foreign domestic workers and denounced a call by employers’groups to freeze
their pay.
Septi, a spokesperson for the Asian
Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) said at a press conference held Sunday that
freezing salaries would amount to a pay cut, given the surging inflation.
“The demand for a pay
freeze actively pushes migrant workers deeper into financial hardship. The
current legal minimum salary of HK$5,100 per month is already incredibly low.
It fails to reflect a true living wage for the city.” she said.
“A
frozen wage acts as a functional pay cut, driving workers into severe personal
debt.”
The International Domestic Service Industry Development Federation and the
Quadripartite Alliance for Harmonious Employment Practices (QAHEP) called for a
wage freeze earlier this week, claiming that mandated pay hikes could cause
mass contract terminations.
The coalition cited a July survey showing 97% of employers are opposed to wage increases for FDWs, saying it would strain their finances. The group also said FDW pay has risen7.8 percent over three years while the consumer price index rose only 5.4 percent.
They said migrant workers should share the hardship from the
economic crisis.
AMCB said that instead of a wage freeze or cut, foreign domestic
workers should be paid the minimum “living wage” of
HK$6,172 and
HK$3,123 in food allowance.
While admitting that the Mideast oil crisis is causing financial problems
across the board, the group said it should be the Hong Kong government that must
address the problem and not allow it to be passed on to the most vulnerable
sectors of society like migrant workers.
Another spokesperson, Dolores Balladares, said: “We acknowledge that Hong Kong workers, many
of whom are employers of MDWs, also face economic hardships due to low wages.
The HK government is the one accountable for not addressing the issue of
workers' low salary, the high cost of living and the unresolved economic crisis
here in HK. MDWs should not be made the scapegoat of such neglect.”
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| The group says a wage freeze will amount to a pay cut, given the rise in prices |
The press conference was attended by
representatives of various local rights groups like Meilin Wu
of HK Women Workers Association, Sally Liang from International Migrants
Alliance Academe Network, Fifi Ng of Auto8A migrants committee, Vic Yong from
HK Living Wage network and Johannie Tong from Mission for Migrants Workers.
“Migrant domestic workers are dedicated labourers who deserve
dignity, fairness, and a living wage, not systemic exploitation,” said the
group.
Wu added, “The
government policies and loopholes make carers (local and migrant ) suffer,”
Ng explained the growth rates of the MDWs’ minimum allowable wage
and the local statutory minimum wage have been much lower than Hong Kong’s
median income levels. All three metrics lag behind Hong Kong’s GDP growth.
Mission’s Tong said, “Migrant domestic workers are the
backbone of HK society. MDWs are the ones ensuring children, elderly, and
households are taken care of, making it possible to increase the labour force
for the HK economy and communities to function. Yet the contribution of MDWs is
always taken for granted and they are treated as commodities that are
disposable.”
Liang added, “Better care for migrant domestic workers genuinely
means better care for Hong Kong families. Instead of letting commercial
intermediaries profit while pushing workers and employers into conflict, we
urge the Hong Kong government to take institutional responsibility, regulate
the care chain effectively, and ensure a living wage that supports the entire
caregiving fabric of our
society.”
The speakers ended the press conference with a pledge to continue
the fight, not only for a living wage, but also for better working and living
conditions, and for the fair and just treatment of all local and migrant
workers in Hong Kong
