The Department of Migrant Workers announced on Wednesday that thousands of overseas Filipino workers based in Hong Kong, along with those in Taiwan, are expected to benefit from the new wage hikes taking effect on 1 January 2024.

DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac expressed gratitude to both Hong Kong and Taiwan for enacting the wage legislation.

"We thank Taiwan's Ministry of Labor and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Labor Department for the wage legislation that recognizes the work of our OFWs and their contribution to the economic development of their hosts," Cacdac said.

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

Food allowance too

Around 40,000 of them are new hires or had renewed their contracts. By January 2024, the number of Filipino HSWs in Hong Kong is expected to rise to 205,000.

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

The same wage order raised the food allowance for FDHs to HK$1,236 or P9,649.98 from the previous rate of HK$1,196 or P9,334.78.

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

Meanwhile, similar wage legislation enacted by Taiwan's Ministry of Labor mandated 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 wage directive also raised the minimum hourly wage by NT$7, from NT$176 or P312.80 to NT$183 or P321.48.

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

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