LD hikes helpers’ minimum wage to $4,410, and food allowance to $1,053

Migrant domestic workers demand to increase their minimum allowable wage to $5,500 and food allowance to $2,500.

THE Labour Department has approved a $100-hike in the minimum allowable wage of foreign domestic helpers to $4,410 or a 2.3 percent-hike

Food allowance, on the other hand, has been raised to $1,053 from $1,037 or a 1.5 percent-raise, said Vice Consul Timmy Guzman Quintin.

The new rates will be effective Sept. 30.

The additional wage and food allowance were considerably lower than the $5,500 MAW and $2,500 food allowance migrant domestic workers sought in their petition to the LD.

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, welcomed the raise, saying it was a “positive development” that would benefit the more than 196,000 Filipinos working as domestic helpers in the city.

“The Department, through the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, will continue to work together with the Hong Kong government and other relevant groups to protect the rights and ensure the welfare of the OFWs in the territory,”the PCG said in a statement.