HK maids upset over wage decision

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body in Hong Kong (AMCB-HK) expressed their disappointment after the Hong Kong government announced increases in their minimum allowable wage (MAW) and food allowance.

“It is still not enough,” said AMCB-HK spokesperson Dolores Balladares in a press statement.

The Hong Kong government announced that there will be $160 addition to the MAW and $25 increase in the food allowance.

The current MAW is set at HK $3,740. According to Balladares, the new wage will still not be enough to meet the needs of workers, as prices of commodities and services in HK have increased.

The organization also expressed their disappointment on how the government came to the decision.

“In the dialogue with the Labor Department in the first week of May, that was the only time they told us that the review of the MAW was ongoing and that the announcement will be made in August,” said Ballares.

“They did not give time for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to make a case for our demand. This just showed that the MAW process is an unjust, arbitrary and untransparent process.”

Karsiwen, AMCB-HK’s Indonesian spokesperson, said that the Hong Kong government made the decision without meaningful input from the FDWs.

“The FDWs are the ones who carry the burden of a still very low salary in the face of the increasingly expensive life in Hong Kong,” Karsiwen said.

The AMCB-HK is lobbying for the inclusion of FDWs to the Statutory Minimum Wage. They officially submitted a petition for a HK$4,000 minimum monthly wage this morning.

“The recovery of the Hong Kong economy must include the recovery of the economic capacity of those in the bottom,” Balladares said.

“This new decision on the MAW is not a relief for FDWs but a pittance that keeps us in a desperate need to survive.” –abs-cbnNEWS.com