‘Balanced and acceptable’: labour chief defends helper wage rise amid criticism
Hong Kong’s stronger economic performance over the past year is the reason for raising the monthly minimum wage for foreign domestic helpers, the labour minister has said amid disappointment from both unions and employers’ groups. Defending the government’s decision to raise the monthly minimum wage by 2.35 per cent to HK$5,220 (US$665), Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the…
Hong Kong's labour minister, Chris Sun Yuk-han, has defended the government's decision to raise the monthly minimum wage for foreign domestic helpers by 2.35 per cent to HK$5,220 (US$665), amid criticism from both labour unions and employers' groups. Sun argued that the government aimed to keep the annual adjustment mechanism "balanced and acceptable," citing Hong Kong's stronger economic performance over the past year as the reason for the increase.
The new wage level will apply to all contracts signed on or after Saturday, but the monthly food allowance for helpers who are not provided with free meals remains unchanged at HK$1,236. This decision has drawn criticism from both sides, with unions proposing a higher minimum wage and employers calling for a pay freeze due to rising costs of living.
Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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