There's seems to be no reason at all to celebrate in Hong Kong nowadays. Local citizens denounce China's seemingly hard stance against their democratic freedom, triggering mass protests in the streets.
But foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in the territory, nearly half of them Filipinos, quietly celebrate after the government announced a HK$100 increase in their minimum wage.
The Hong Kong government said there will be a 2.5 percent increase or HK$100 (P579) in the Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW) of FDHs from HK$4,010 to HK$4,110 (roughly P24,000) per month.
In addition, if employers choose to provide their FDHs with a food allowance in lieu of free food, said allowance will be increased by HK$44 to not less than HK$964 (around P5,600) per month from not less than HK$920 per month, representing an increase of 4.8 percent.
According to the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, the new levels of the MAW and the food allowance will apply to all contracts signed on or after October 1, 2014.
On the other hand, all contracts signed on or before September 30, 2014 with the previous MAW of HK$4,010 per month and food allowance of not less than HK$920 per month will still be processed by the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD), provided that the applications reach the ImmD on or before October 28, 2014 to allow for employers to send the signed contracts to ImmD for completion of the necessary application procedures.
Also, employment contracts signed on or after October 1, 2014 shall have a MAW of HK$4,110 indicated in the employment contract. Likewise, should employers grant a food allowance in lieu of free food, the employment contract must reflect the amount of HK$964.
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