Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s eased quarantine measures could bring down wages of foreign domestic helpers, say agencies
- New measures could lead to more helpers coming into the city, which would put a halt to the rising market salary, says CEO
- Current market salary is HK$6,000 to HK$6,500 a month, higher than the minimum wage of HK$4,630
Hong Kong’s eased quarantine measures for overseas travellers could bring down the wages of foreign domestic helpers, employment agencies have said.
The Labour Department on Wednesday confirmed that all in bound helpers would be subject to the new quarantine measures.
All overseas arrivals in Hong Kong would have to undergo three days of compulsory quarantine at a designated hotel and another four days of medical surveillance, that restricts their movements, from Friday.
Cheung Kit-man, chairman of the Hong Kong Employment Agencies Association and CEO of Overseas Employment Ltd., said decreasing compulsory quarantine from seven days would increase the supply of workers.
In June and July 2022, up to 6,000 foreign domestic workers, his company had arranged to work in Hong Kong, were stuck overseas because of the scarce supply of rooms in designated quarantine hotels.