Hong Kong employer groups call for helper wage freeze, warn of mass sackings

A coalition of Hong Kong employers is calling on the government to freeze the pay of foreign domestic workers this year. They warn that any wage increases may result in mass sackings. The employers' groups, including the International Domestic Service Industry Development, also proposed a new pay-for-performance mechanism. This would allow employers to reward high-performing helpers more than poor performers.

The proposal comes as the city experiences hot weather, with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius in some parts on Saturday. According to the Observatory, the heatwave is due to Tropical Cyclone Dolphin bringing hot weather to the territory. The hot weather is expected to continue until midweek next week, before giving way to rain.

The employers' groups did not provide further details on the proposed pay-for-performance mechanism. They also did not specify how a wage freeze would affect current domestic workers. The South China Morning Post reported on the employers' call for a wage freeze and proposed pay-for-performance mechanism.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Free Press — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.