Thousands of OFWs in Taiwan, Hong Kong to get pay hike

MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan and Hong Kong will enjoy salary increases starting in 2024 due to government policies ordering a minimum wage hike, according to the Department of Migrant Workers.

The labor departments of Taiwan and Hong Kong have each agreed to raise their monthly minimum wages for certain professions, the DMW said on Wednesday.

DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Cacdac said that Taiwan has greenlighted a new wage order mandating a 4.05% increase in the monthly minimum salary of factory workers from NT$ (New Taiwan Dollar) 26,400 (P46,378.70) to NT$27,470 (P48,223.43).

The same wage order also raises the minimum hourly wage to NT$183 (P321.48) from NT$176 (P312.80).

More than 150,000 Filipinos work in Taiwan, the largest chunk of which are in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Labor Department has approved a wage hike that will benefit OFWs working as household service workers or domestic workers whose employment contracts were signed on or after September 30, 2023.

The measure will increase the minimum allowable wage for OFW domestic workers in Hong Kong from HK$4,730 (P36,917.65) to HK$4,870 (P38,010.35). The allowable food allowance for OFW domestic workers was also raised to HK$1,236 (9,649.98) from the previous rate of HK$1,196 (P9,334.78.)

Cacdac thanked Taiwan and Hong Kong for  “enacting wage legislation that recognizes the work of our OFWs and their contribution to the economic development of their host countries.”