Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac welcomed the minimum salary increase for foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, saying the Philippine government will continue to push for better compensation and opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Cacdac on Wednesday said the government will continue to incentivize and expand opportunities for Filipino domestic workers.

“They work so hard and they need the necessary compensation to keep their families alive, to keep their families, their children alive and educated,” Cacdac said.

The Hong Kong government on Tuesday announced that the monthly minimum wage for domestic workers will increase by 2.2 percent, from HKD 4,990 (around P37,000) to HKD 5,100 (around P38,000), for contracts signed on or after 1 October.

In September, the Department of Migrant Workers also announced a voluntary, incentive-based scheme to implement the new minimum wage hike for OFWs, from USD 400 — which had been in place since 2006 — to USD 500 under Labor Advisory No. 25 signed in August.

Cacdac earlier described this as the department’s “positive approach” rather than penalizing employers in countries who comply with the minimum wage hike.