The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) says thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan and Hong Kong stand to benefit from new wage orders starting the fourth quarter 2023 to January 2024.
“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 (OIC) Hans Leo Cacdac.
The Taiwan Ministry of Labor’s (MOL) new wage order mandates a 4.05% increase in the monthly minimum salary from NT$ 26,400 (P46,378.70) to NT$27,470 (P48,223.43).
The same wage order also increases the minimum hourly wage by NT$7 from NT$168 (P295.14) to NT$183 (P321.48).
123,768 OFWs who work in the manufacturing sector in Taiwan stand to benefit from the new wage order once it took effect on January 1st.
The Ministry of Labor reports 151, 562 Filipinos are working in Taiwan as of October 2023. Of these 123,768 who work in the manufacturing sector stand to benefit from the new wage order once it takes effect on January 1st. The DMW projects another 17,721 workers in this category to be hired by the end of the year.
OFWs in Hong Kong working as foreign domestic helpers will receive a minimum allowable wage (MAW) of HK$4,870 or P38,010.35.
Meanwhile, 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.
OFWs working as FDHs will receive a minimum allowable wage (MAW) of HK$4,870 or P38,010.35. This is a HK$140 increase from the previous rate of HK$4,730 or P36,917.65.
The Hong Kong wage order also mandates an adjustment in the allowable food allowance for FDHs raising it 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 30 September 2023.
The Migrant Workers Office in Hong Kong (MWO-HK) reports 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.
Additionally, by January 2024, MWO-HK estimates there will be around 205,000 Filipino HSWs working in Hong Kong.
