Foreign domestic helpers gather at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on March 15, 2021. (EDMOND TANG/CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - The minimum allowable wage for foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong will remain at Hk$4,630 per month but their food allowance will increase, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said Thursday.

The government said in a statement that the minimum food allowance will be increased by HK$52 from not less than $1,121 to not less than $1,173 per month.

Employers are required to provide FDHs with food free of charge but they may also choose to give a food allowance instead.

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"The government reviews the MAW for FDHs regularly. In accordance with the established practice, we have carefully considered Hong Kong's general economic and labor market conditions over the past year, as well as Hong Kong's near-term economic outlook, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in this year's review,” a government spokesman was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Taking into account the above, the affordability of employers and the livelihood of FDHs, the government has decided that the MAW level for FDHs should remain unchanged," he added.

FDH contracts signed on Thursday or earlier with food allowance of not less than HK$1,121 per month will still be processed by the Immigration Department provided that the applications reach the ImmD on or before October 28.

This arrangement will give employers sufficient time to send the signed contracts to the ImmD for completion of the necessary application procedures.

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