Editorial | Domestic helper pay rates show balance emerging in Hong Kong market
Employer requirements for skills and experience are increasingly finding a match with helper demands for better pay and conditions
A local employers’ group, however, had earlier called for a freeze on pay amid an economic slowdown, and a spokeswoman said about 40 per cent of employers were not from well-off households. Nonetheless, she said the pay-rise decision was understandable.
What sets helpers apart is that they are not hired by businesses but by other individuals, often to help with child or elderly care or housekeeping while the employer works. Job and living conditions vary widely. The employer often has a budget for paid help.
Job advertisements by employers in the New Territories offered the highest monthly salary at HK$5,886, followed by those on Hong Kong Island at HK$5,807 and Kowloon at HK$5,158. The survey might be random, but it implies a free-market premium on the convenience of local residence and the value of experience, as well as childcare or elderly care credentials, including previous work history.
The government says it reviews the minimum helper wage regularly to take account of economic and labour market conditions.