DMW: OFWs to benefit from Taiwan, Hong Kong minimum wage hike By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

The recently approved orders hiking the minimum wages in Taiwan and Hong Kong are set to benefit thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday. In a statement, the DMW said the Taiwan Ministry of Labor (MOL) mandated a 4.05% increase in the monthly minimum salary from NT$26,400 (P46,378.70) to NT$27,470 (P48,223.43), effective January 1, 2024. The wage order also hiked the minimum hourly wage by NT$7 from NT$168 (P295.14) to NT$183 (P321.48). The Migrant Workers Department said, citing MOL data as of October, that 151,562 Filipinos are working in Taiwan. Of the said number, 123,768 are working in the manufacturing sector and stand to benefit from the wage hike. The DMW, moreover, is projecting another 17,721 workers in the said category to be hired by the end of the year. “We thank Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor and the Hong Kong 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. Meanwhile, the DMW said OFWs working as foreign domestic helpers (FDH) or household service workers (HSWs) in Hong Kong will benefit from similar wage legislation set by Hong Kong’s Labor Department. The agency said OFWs working as FDHs will receive a minimum allowable wage (MAW) of HK$4,870 or P38,010.35, a HK$140 increase from the previous rate of HK$4,730 or P36,917.65. The Hong Kong Labor Department also increased the allowable food allowance for FDHs to HK$1,236 or P9,649.98 from the previous rate of HK$1,196 or P9,334.78. These wage increases in Hong Kong shall be applicable only to FDH contracts signed on or after September 30, 2023, according to the DMW. Citing the Migrant Workers Office in Hongkong (MWO-HK), the Migrant Workers Department said that as of August 2023, there are 196,364 OFWs working as HSWs or FDHs in Hong Kong. “MWO-HK estimates some 40,000 HSWs representing new hires and those with renewed contracts will directly benefit from the new wage legislation,” it said. “Additionally, by January 2024, MWO-HK estimates there will be around 205,000 Filipino HSWs working in Hong Kong,” it added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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