HONG KONG — A coalition of migrant worker organizations submitted formal demands Monday to Hong Kong authorities calling for a living wage of HK$6,172 and a food allowance of HK$3,123 for migrant domestic workers, as the city’s government conducts its periodic review of the Minimum Allowable Wage.
The Asian Migrant Coordinating Body (AMCB), an alliance representing workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, joined a broader coalition of migrant domestic worker organizations at a Hong Kong labour dialogue focused on the Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW) review. The group also mobilized a joint petition that secured endorsements from 70 organizations.
“The migrant domestic workers are the backbone — the most essential workers in society,” AMCB said in a statement. “Yet the contribution of MDWs is always neglected, and they are treated as commodities that are disposable.”
Hong Kong is home to roughly 340,000 migrant domestic workers, the vast majority from the Philippines and Indonesia, who care for children, the elderly, and households across the city. Advocates argue their labor underpins Hong Kong’s broader workforce participation by enabling local residents — particularly women — to remain employed.
Nine-Point Agenda
Beyond wages, AMCB outlined a nine-point agenda submitted to the Labour Department, touching on longstanding grievances within the migrant worker community:
- Regulated working hours, including a mandatory 11-hour continuous rest period between consecutive workdays for live-in domestic workers, in addition to meal breaks.
- Abolition of the two-week rule, which requires workers to leave Hong Kong within 14 days of a contract termination, a policy critics say forces workers to endure abuse rather than risk deportation while heavily indebted.
- An end to the mandatory live-in policy, making live-out arrangements an option to address concerns over substandard accommodation.
- Clearer standard employment contracts specifying working hours, rest periods, accommodation standards, and food quality.
- Strict enforcement of the ban on window cleaning by domestic workers, with clear penalties for non-compliant employers.
- Unconditional access to long service benefits, removing a current provision that disqualifies workers who initiate contract terminations.
- Investigations into unscrupulous recruitment agencies.
- Lifting of the immigration entry ban on Nepali migrant workers.
- Facilitation of public leisure spaces — including parks and bridges — for domestic workers on their days off.
“End Modern Day Slavery”
AMCB framed its demands in human rights terms, calling on the Hong Kong government to recognize migrant domestic workers as full members of society rather than temporary, expendable labor.
“In the spirit of promoting Hong Kong as a safe place and treating migrant domestic workers as human beings, we call on the Hong Kong government to end modern day slavery,” the group said.
The Labour Department has not issued a public response to the petition at the time of publication.
AMCB spokespersons Shiela Tebia and JP are available for comment at +852 9013 1542 and +852 9685 1379, respectively.
