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Minimum wage could see half of maids sacked

Agnes Lam

Half of the employers of foreign domestic helpers would sack them if maids were covered by statutory minimum wage laws, a survey has found.

The Liberal Party interviewed 560 employers of foreign domestic helpers from August 22 to September 1.

Fifty-three per cent said they would sack their workers if they had to pay them a minimum of HK$4,800 a month, as proposed by unions.

A quarter of respondents said they would continue to employ a maid as they really needed the service.

Live-in maids are not included in the minimum wage bill.

The government argues that since the minimum wage is based on an hourly rate, it is too difficult to calculate maids' wages. It also says that maids get accommodation and food as part of a package.

Foreign domestic helper unions have demanded the government cover these workers in the legislation. They say the minimum wage should be set at HK$33 an hour and working hours be set at 10 a day, bringing the monthly salary to HK$4,800.

The minimum wage for domestic helpers is HK$3,580.

The Liberal Party also interviewed 506 small and medium-sized enterprises from May 20 to June 2 to gauge views on the minimum wage. About 45 per cent backed the legislation, with 34.8 per cent opposed. Almost 50 per cent supported setting a minimum wage for disabled workers, while 36.5 per cent disagreed. Forty-five per cent backed a separate wage rate for young people, but 44.7 per cent opposed it.

The Liberal Party backs a minimum wage not higher than HK$24 an hour, equalling HK$4,992 a month based on an eight-hour day, 26 days a month. Liberal Party executive committee member Michael Tien Puk-sun said this would be 45 per cent of the average median monthly wage of HK$11,063. 'Most countries set their minimum wage rate level lower than this,' he said. ' Hong Kong should not have a wage level that is higher than this to avoid hurting the city's competitiveness.'

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