The Department of Migrant Workers announced on Wednesday that thousands of overseas Filipino workers based in Taiwan and Hong Kong are expected to benefit from the new wage hike which will take effect on 1 January 2024.

DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac expressed its gratitude to both countries for enacting wage legislation.

"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," Cacdac said.

The DMW reported that the new wage order approved by the Hong Kong Labor Department will benefit the OFWs employed as foreign domestic helpers or household service workers. The Migrant Workers Office in Hong Kong reported that as of August this year, there are about 196,364 OFWs employed as Household Service Workers in the Chinese Special Administrative Region.

Around 40,000 of them are new hires or have renewed contracts. An estimated 205,000 Filipino HSWs in Hong Kong are expected by January 2024.

With the new wage policy, OFWs serving as FDHs will receive a minimum allowable wage of HK$4,870 or P38,010.35, which is equivalent to a HK$140 increase from the previous rate of HK$4,730 or P36,917.65.

The same wage order also raised the allowable food allowance for FDHs to HK$1,236 or PHP9,649.98 from the previous rate of HK$1,196 or PHP9,334.78.

The wage increase in Hong Kong shall apply only to FDH contracts signed on or after 30 September this year.

Meanwhile, similar wage legislation issued by Taiwan's Ministry of Labor mandates a 4.05 percent increase in the monthly minimum salary of factory workers from NT$ 26,400, or P46,378.70, to NT$ 27,470 or P48,223.43.
The same wage directive also raises the minimum hourly wage by NT$7, from NT$176 tantamount to P312.80, to NT$183 or P321.48.

According to the data from Taiwan's Ministry of Labor, as of October, about 151,562 Filipinos are working in Taiwan, with 123,768 working in the manufacturing sector.

The DMW projects another 17,721 workers in the manufacturing industry to be hired by the end of the year.