Workers stage a
march to press
their demands for
a 'meaningful'
increase in salaries
after Finance
Secretary John
Tsang announced
a $115 billion
budget surplus.
march to press
their demands for
a 'meaningful'
increase in salaries
after Finance
Secretary John
Tsang announced
a $115 billion
budget surplus.
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Budget surplus fuels OFW pay demands
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filglobe.com
filipino globe online edition
Migrants groups feel left out in booming HK economy
JOSE MARCELO HONG KONG
Finance Secretary John Tsang’s budget speech has left domestic helpers
feeling betrayed and abandoned while the rest of the territory reaps the
benefits of Hong Kong’s flourishing economy.
Migrant groups lament that helpers, who endured sizable wage cuts when the
SAR was hit by twin crises in past years, were left out in the cold when Tsang
announced a $100 billion package in tax breaks and doleouts last February 27.
JOSE MARCELO HONG KONG
Finance Secretary John Tsang’s budget speech has left domestic helpers
feeling betrayed and abandoned while the rest of the territory reaps the
benefits of Hong Kong’s flourishing economy.
Migrant groups lament that helpers, who endured sizable wage cuts when the
SAR was hit by twin crises in past years, were left out in the cold when Tsang
announced a $100 billion package in tax breaks and doleouts last February 27.
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The levy fund
is already
nearing the $4
billion mark
which the
government
plans to use
for the
retraining of
local workers
is already
nearing the $4
billion mark
which the
government
plans to use
for the
retraining of
local workers
“We were the target of pay cuts during the
economic slump yet we are now forgotten in
times of prosperity,” said Eni Lestari,
spokesperson of the Asian Migrants
Coordinating Body.
Lestari recalled that Hong Kong government
officials had implored foreign helpers “to
share in the burden of the economic crisis”
when they imposed a $400 wage cut in 2003.
Yet she added that “foreign household
workers are completely ignored during better
times.”
economic slump yet we are now forgotten in
times of prosperity,” said Eni Lestari,
spokesperson of the Asian Migrants
Coordinating Body.
Lestari recalled that Hong Kong government
officials had implored foreign helpers “to
share in the burden of the economic crisis”
when they imposed a $400 wage cut in 2003.
Yet she added that “foreign household
workers are completely ignored during better
times.”
Labor officials, however, see Tsang’s financial package as an encouraging
sign for workers hoping for a significant pay rise once the annual review of
foreign helpers’ salaries is completed in May.
All the economic indicators which the Labour Department uses to determine
adjustments of the minimum wage for helpers are up, they said.
The current minimum allowable wage for helpers stands at $3,480 after what
migrant groups had criticized as “piecemeal” increases over the past three
years.
They are seeking a return to the 2003 benchmark of $3,670. Workers also rue
the continued charging of a $9,600 annual levy on employers of foreign
helpers at a time when the government’s surplus have reached a staggering
$115.6 billion.
Since the levy was imposed in 2003, the levy fund is already nearing the $4
billion mark which the government plans to use for the retraining of local
workers.
“It’s high time na i-scrap na ang levy,” said Dolores Balladares-Pelaez,
chairperson of United Filipinos Hong Kong.
“At sana ibalik sa mga foreign helpers ‘yung levy, like in the form of better
health services.”
There are also concerns that a plan to put up more government-run day-care
centres, which Tsang backed with a $45 million outlay, will dent demand for
foreign helpers.
sign for workers hoping for a significant pay rise once the annual review of
foreign helpers’ salaries is completed in May.
All the economic indicators which the Labour Department uses to determine
adjustments of the minimum wage for helpers are up, they said.
The current minimum allowable wage for helpers stands at $3,480 after what
migrant groups had criticized as “piecemeal” increases over the past three
years.
They are seeking a return to the 2003 benchmark of $3,670. Workers also rue
the continued charging of a $9,600 annual levy on employers of foreign
helpers at a time when the government’s surplus have reached a staggering
$115.6 billion.
Since the levy was imposed in 2003, the levy fund is already nearing the $4
billion mark which the government plans to use for the retraining of local
workers.
“It’s high time na i-scrap na ang levy,” said Dolores Balladares-Pelaez,
chairperson of United Filipinos Hong Kong.
“At sana ibalik sa mga foreign helpers ‘yung levy, like in the form of better
health services.”
There are also concerns that a plan to put up more government-run day-care
centres, which Tsang backed with a $45 million outlay, will dent demand for
foreign helpers.
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