Where domestic helpers get paid the most and least in Hong Kong, and employers’ growing generosity

Survey by HelperChoice that shows the top- and bottom-paying districts on its platform also reveals that the average salary offered by employers is increasing faster than the government’s minimum wage

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Domestic helpers protesting for higher wages outside the Harbour Building in Central in August. Fifteen representatives from two of the most active helpers’ groups asked for a 24.7 per cent increase in their monthly wage to HK$5,500. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 12:45pm, 18 Sep 2018Updated: 4:28pm, 18 Sep 2018

Hong Kong’s army of domestic helpers, which numbered 370,000 last year, play a vital role in keeping the city in motion. But for many, surviving on the legal minimum allowable wage of HK$4,410 (US$562) a month is a struggle.

This month a survey by HelperChoice, an online platform that matches employers with domestic helpers at no cost to helpers, released its own wage findings.

It analysed data from 2,000 job ads posted by its users from October 1, 2017 to July 31, 2018. The results were encouraging: for the second consecutive year, the average salary offered by employers in the city increased faster than the legal minimum allowable wage.

The survey found the average salary offered by employers was HK$4,799, a 5.5 per cent increase, or HK$254, over the results of its 2017 survey. The legal minimum allowable wage increased 2.3 per cent in October last year. The consumer price index rose 2.5 per cent over the same period.

Domestic helpers gathering in Central on a public holiday. Photo: Edward Wong

However, the survey also revealed salary disparities between different Hong Kong districts.

While some employers in Happy Valley and Sai Ying Pun offer up to HK$8,500 a month, most employers in Kwun Tong do not offer more than the HK$4,410 minimum wage.