"Hong Kong’s new minimum wage is a significant step in the right direction,
but should be increased and extended to protect foreign domestic workers
against discrimination," said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the ITUC.
The government has set the minimum wage at only HK$28 (US$3.60). The ITUC
and its Hong Kong affiliates are calling for a minimum wage of at least
HK$33 (US$4.25) to cover basic living costs.
Exclusion from the minimum wage is only one example of discrimination
against foreign domestic workers. Hong Kong is not subject to the
International Labour Organisation’s core conventions on Equal Remuneration
and Discrimination.
"China has already ratified these conventions itself. Why won’t it extend
them to Hong Kong?," asked Burrow.
Only about one percent of Hong Kong’s workforce is covered by collective
agreements. The ITUC report calls on the government of Hong Kong to bargain
collectively with public employees and create a legal framework for
collective bargaining in the private sector.
