Employers call for minimum wage freeze for foreign domestic helpers

A group of employers on Saturday call for a salary freeze for foreign domestic helpers, after labour unions have proposed to rise the minimum wage from 5,100 to 6,670 dollars.

The Labour Department reviews the salary of foreign domestic helpers each year, with the last adjustment being in September. On Saturday, the Quadripartite Alliance for Harmonious Employment Practices and more than 10 foreign domestic helper employers spoke to the media after attending a closed-door meeting with the government.

The organisation says 6,211 employers responded to a July survey. It asked whether the government should freeze the salary and food allowance of foreign domestic helpers at 5,100 and 1,236 dollars. More than 97% of employers polled against a pay rise, while 84% state a rise in salary will increase the family's financial burden, forcing them to terminate the contract with helpers.

Kary Tsui, the deputy chairperson of QAHEP, says "We are comparing it with other countries, like Singapore and Malaysia. In Singapore, it's like 3,500-3,800 (dollars). For all the benefits and medical support and the holidays, compared to (other places), overall, Hong Kong is the highest one and the best one."

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association says increasing the helpers' minimum wage will bring losses to employers and employees.

Yung Ma Shan-yee, the chairperson for the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, says " That is not their salary freezing; that is their minimum freezing. That allows those low-income employers to afford employ them. If the minimum wage rises every years, actually you can see the economy in Hong Kong, some employees even lost their jobs. In order to help and encourage more employers continue to employ domestic helpers from overseas, I think freezing the minimum wage is one of the methods."

She says the government must consider the financial ability of employers when conducting the relevant review.