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Alliance of Asian migrants make pay proposal
HONG KONG - Helper or worker? Two simple words in the English language, yet to foreign maids, cooks and cleaners in Hong Kong, one could stand between them and the minimum wage.
All official English-language documentation about such staff refers to them as "foreign domestic helpers", although unions have called for the moniker to be adjusted to "foreign domestic workers" to guarantee they come under the city's statutory minimum wage.
At the moment, foreign domestic helpers receive the minimum allowable wage (MAW), which is set by the special administrative region's Executive Council and reviewed annually.
In July 2008, the MAW was raised by HK$100 ($13) to HK$3,580 a month to match it with the cost of living and the existing labor situation.
However, unions criticize the MAW mechanism for being arbitrary and claim that the economic indicators on which the review is based are murky at best. The fact that it is an administrative review also means the decision is final and cannot be challenged.
Unlike the MAW, the statutory minimum wage would allow foreign workers the chance to lobby the Legislative Council, attend public consultations and discussions and witness deliberations like employers.
"Domestic work should be remunerated as any other kind of work," said the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, an alliance with members from Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, in a statement to the Legislative Council.
Voices against their inclusion are arguably stronger, though, according to a study by the city's labor department.
A report on the findings of an official survey suggest that it is impractical to include maids, the majority of whom are foreign women, in the statutory minimum wage.
Domestic work varies in each case and, as helpers usually live with employers, it makes calculating their working hours extremely difficult. (The statutory minimum wage is based on time records.)
Employers polled also argued that the current MAW is not a true reflection of a maid's income since they do not need to pay for accommodation, meals or transport. These non-cash benefits leave maids with higher disposable incomes than less-skilled workers, they said.
The report also suggests that any extra costs could lead to mass layoffs, with families taking on the domestic work themselves.
In response, the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body proposed a set 10-hour working day instead of the usual calculation.
Mathematics aside, the real punch lies with the emotional appeal.
"We are not items with 'on sale' tags," said the Asian alliance's proposal.
"Our worth and dignity as workers and as human beings should be acknowledged and should not be cheapened so others can 'afford' us."
China Daily
(China Daily 07/23/2010 page1)
