A group of domestic workers from Hong Kong organized a protest calling for a 21% increase in the minimum wage, which they say is “believably low” for the cost of living in the Chinese semi-autonomous region.
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26/09/2026
by
Lusa
A demonstration, organized by the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) in front of the Department of Labour, claimed an increase from 5,100 to 6,172 Hong Kong dollars (from 571 to 691 euros) at minimum wage.
“ This is an incredibly low salary for a territory that proudly calls itself the ‘World City of Asia’,” said AMCB spokesman Sringatin in a statement.
According to official data, the average salary in the territory is currently around $21,200 from Hong Kong (EUR 2,374).
In the statement quoted by the Hong Kong Free Press news portal, the spokesperson for AMCB – the largest group of unions and migrant workers’ associations in the city – also stressed that since 2000, the minimum wage has increased by only 39%.
“ Increasing our wages will ensure that we can deal with incessant inflation in Hong Kong, which strongly affects most [domestic workers] who strive to live decently and with dignity,” Sringatin said.
AMCB also requested an increase from $1,236 to $3,123 from Hong Kong (EUR 138 to 350) in the monthly food allowance paid by employers.
In August, a petition from two groups representing families and employment agencies requested the freezing of wages of domestic workers and claimed that any increase would lead to mass redundancies.
AMCB stated that the care services provided by domestic employees are “unreplaceable” and that part of their income is reinvested in the local economy.
The coalition stated that domestic workers have been providing “uninterruptible assistance in the home and care of children and the elderly for decades,” allowing Hong Kong families to have two people working full-time.
In the neighbouring Chinese region of Macao, the government raised the minimum wage by 2.9% in January to 7,280 patacas (EUR 791) monthly, a review that again excluded domestic employees.
This is due to the ‘single nature’ of domestic work and the need for the worker to ‘integrate’ in the family life of the employer’, said the Director of Labour Affairs Services (DSAL), Chan Un Tong in November.
Currently, for new domestic workers contracts signed from July 2024, the minimum remuneration fixed by DSAL is 3,200 patacas (EUR 348).
Chan said that the average salary for these contracts was around 3,800 patacas (EUR 413).
According to official data from DSAL, at the end of March almost 28,800 domestic employees worked in Macau, the highest value since February 2021.