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| Posters and banners show a hefty salary increase is just one of the concerns of the protesters |
Protesters from the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body gathered outside the Hong Kong Labor Department offices in Sheung Wan today, Friday, just days before the expected announcement of the new minimum allowable wage (MAW) for foreign domestic workers.
The protesters who came from different ethnic
backgrounds reiterated their call of a “living wage” of no less than HK$6,172
monthly for FDWs, and a food allowance of HK$3,123.
As in the past, the new MAW is expected to be announced
shortly, as it usually takes effect on the first of October each year.
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| Balladares says a much higher increase is necessary because of the rising inflation |
AMCB spokesperson and Migrante Hong Kong chair Dolores
Balladares said their “last push” for an acceptable wage increase has become
very crucial this year, amid the Middle East oil crisis which has led to an
inflation spike in many places, including Hong Kong.
“We are very much affected by the high inflation in
Hong Kong, which has led to increases in the costs of food, transportation and
even public health care,” said Balladares.
“We cannot afford to shoulder these increases on our
current salary.”
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| DETAILS HERE |
The current minimum wage for FDWs is HK$5,100 a
month with the optional food allowance of HK$1,236 for those whose employers do
not provide them with meals.
Balladares pointed out that in the past 25 years,
the total salary increase granted to FDWs in Hong Kong amounted to only a HK$1,430,
which she called “ridiculous.”
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| Sring says the 300,000 FDWs in HK have enabled many residents to work and get high pay |
Another spokesperson, Sring Atin of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, said that the 300,000 FDWs currently working in Hong Kong have enabled locals to work and receive high salaries, while they have been paid little over the past years.
Without the FDWs, locals will have difficulty caring
for elderly and young family members, and managing their households, Sring
said.
Both speakers again firmly denounced a call by
several employers’groups to freeze their wages, saying everyone in Hong Kong
should share the burden of rising prices and a lacklustre economy.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
If help is needed, it is the government that should
be called upon to step in, rather than squeezing FDWs further, the group said.
"Increasing
our wage will ensure we can cope with the unending inflation in Hong Kong,
which heavily impacts the majority of MDWs (migrant domestic workers) who are
striving to live decently and with dignity," Sring said.
The
group also pointed out that the growing need in Hong Kong for foreign
caregivers for elderly residents who are staying at home, which was highlighted
in the recent Policy Address by Chief Executive John Lee.
But
“while these caregivers are acutely needed, their projected salaries are not
substantially different from standard domestic workers, offering a mere 10% to
20% premium,” said AMCB in a statement.
“
Modern-day slavery remains visibly evident for foreign workers in Hong Kong,”
added the statement.
