The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) hailed the new minimum wage orders issued by the governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong benefitting thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the two states.
“We thank Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor and the Hongkong Special Administrative Region Labor Department respectively for enacting wage legislation that recognizes the work of our OFWs and their contribution to the economic development of their host countries,” said DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac.
The Taiwan Ministry of Labor’s (MOL) new wage order mandates a 4.05 percent increase in the monthly minimum salary from NT$ 26,400 (P46,378.70) to NT$27,470 (P48,223.43). The same wage order also increases the minimum hourly wage by NT$7 from NT$168 (P295.14) to NT$183 (P321.48).
The Ministry of Labor disclosed that 151, 562 Filipinos were working in Taiwan as of October 2023. Of these number, 123,768 who work in the manufacturing sector stand to benefit from the new wage whch takes effect on January 1st.
The DMW estimated that another 17,721 workers in this category would be hired by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, OFWs working as domestic helpers (or household service workers (HSWs) in Hongkong will benefit from a similar wage legislation decreed by Hongkong’s Labor Department.
OFWs working as domestic helpers in HK will receive a minimum allowable wage of HK$4,870 or P38,010.35. This is a HK$140 increase from the previous rate of HK$4,730 or P36,917.65.
The Hongkong wage order also mandates an adjustment in the food allowance for such workers ito HK$1,236 or P9,649.98 from the existing rate of HK$1,196 or P9,334.78. Vito Barcelo
These wage increases in Hongkong shall be applicable only to contracts signed on or after 30 September 2023.
The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Hongkong reported that as of August 2023, there were 196,364 OFWs working as domestic helpers in Hongkong.
Additionally, the MWO estimated there will be around 205,000 Filipino household workers in Hong Kong by January 2024.