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Media Advisory PRESS RELEASE: HKD80 Wage Increase
While the Coalition for Migrants’ Rights (CMR), a coalition of seven migrants’ grassroots organizations and trade unions in Hong Kong, welcomes the wage increase for foreign domestic workers announced by the Hong Kong Government today, 30 May 2006, we nonetheless find this increase grossly insufficient, and call on the government to bring the MAW back to the previous HKD3,860/month.
We would like to remind the Hong Kong Government of their actions over the past years of repeatedly cutting the MAW of FDWs – who are already among the lowest-paid workers in Hong Kong. Following the 1997 financial crisis that plunged Hong Kong and several Asian countries into economic recession or record-high unemployment, the Hong Kong Government first attempted to cut the MAW in 1998 "because FDWs need to share the burden of the economic difficulties." In 1999, the government succeeded in imposing the first-ever cut (5%) on the MAW, bringing it down to HKD3,670/month. This was followed by a second wage cut in 2003, bringing wages down to HKD3,270.
Ms. Eni Yuniarti of KOTKIHO, the Hong Kong Coalition of Indonesian Migrant Workers Organization, (a sister coalitions of CMR particularly in campaign activities) said, "I am not surprised that the Hong Kong Government has insufficiently increased our salary every year. Even though they no longer have good reason to cut our salaries, they have not made a serious effort to provide a significant raise; instead they give us only meager increases. It doesn’t seem that the Government places much value on FDWs – if you look at the problems of underpayment among the Indonesian FDWs, for example, the government has not made any serious action to address this problem."
"We make significant economic contributions to Hong Kong’s economy – over HK13.7 billion annually, which is almost 1% of HK’s GNP in 2004 – but FDWs remain highly vulnerable to abuses, contract violations, discrimination. Last year’s wage hike of HKD50 last year and this latest HKD80 raise are still insufficient to make up for previous pay cuts", declared Sartiwan, the spokesperson of CMR.
Therefore, HKD80 wage hike announced by the Hong Kong Government today is still too small in comparison to what was lost in the previous wage cuts – and grossly insufficient compared with FDWs’ substantial contributions to Hong Kong’s economy.
The Coalition for Migrants Rights demands that the Hong Kong Government bring back the HKD3,860 minimum wage, use the employer levy as a protection funds for FDWs and Stamp Underpayment!
For more information or to arrange an interview with any of the migrants, please call Nurul Qoiriah 852-6153 3105 or Gigi Torres 852-6702 8378.
The Coalition for Migrants Rights (CMR) Flat 6, 13/F, Block A, Fuk Keung Ind. Building, 66 Tong Mi Road, Prince Edward, Kowloon,HK Tel. (852) 2312 0031 Fax. (852) 2992 0111
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