Domestic helpers instructive wage increases to MOP3,000

Approximately 30,000 workers will benefit from the minimum wage increase. There are 55,400 people in Macau, including non-locals, who are earning less than the newly proposed minimum wage. Of them, about 25,400 are domestic helpers.

The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) is requiring local employers of domestic helpers to increase the salary of their helpers to MOP3,000 by the end of this month.

Considering local families’ financial capability and Macau’s overall labor market situation, last year, DSAL decided to adjust the minimum requirement for salary of domestic helpers from MOP2,800 to MOP3,000.

Starting from this year, DSAL has been sending mail to the employers of approximately 6,000 domestic helpers, asking them to make adjustments to the salaries before July 31.

If the employers fail to make the adjustment before the deadline, their employment contract with a domestic helper will not be automatically renewed.

According to DSAL, in the last week the bureau received approximately 1,000 adjustment applications made by domestic helper employers.

The MOP3,000 does not correspond to the actual salary of a domestic helper but instead the minimum amount that an employer should declare to DSAL when applying for a domestic helper.

According to statistics provided by the local government, the average salary of Macau’s domestic helper is MOP4,100, excluding subsidies for accommodation. JZ