Hong Kong’s domestic helpers reveal hunger horror stories in appeal to increase food allowance

Migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong on Tuesday told stories of eating instant noodles, leftovers, and only vegetables with no meat as they appealed to the Labour Department to mandate a rise in their monthly wages and food allowances.

At their annual meeting with the authorities, 15 representatives from two of the most active maids’ groups asked for their food allowance to double from HK$1,053 a month to HK$2,500, along with a 24.7 per cent increase in their monthly wage to HK$5,500.