The minimum wage for helpers will increase by HK$80 to HK$3,400 a month for all employment contracts signed on or after today, a reflection of the recovering labor market and relevant income movement, officials said Tuesday.

But helpers complained the new wage was still a far cry from the pre- SARS level of HK$3,670. A flailing economy prompted the government in 2003 to introduce a levy on employers that effectively reduced the pay of helpers by 11 percent, or HK$400 a month. A subsequent HK$50 rebound last year did little to appease helpers.

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"It's very unfair. The economic situation right now is different from 2003," said Eman Villanueva, of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body. "Considering that migrant workers are facing difficulties back home because of the crises in our respective countries, we deserve much more than this."

Edwina Santoyo, of the Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers, said many helpers were having an increasingly difficult time making ends meet as prices for oil, food and clothing continued to climb in Hong Kong and at home.

In the 1980s when the wage was HK$2,300, a HK$100 bill would buy her a large bag of groceries, but now it bought very little, she said.

"As Hong Kong becomes more successful, why not share the wealth? After all, helpers are contributing to the economy as well," she said.

She estimated the average helper wired about HK$3,000 home to relatives every month. Any remaining money ran out quickly on long-distance calls, toiletries and other personal items.

Eden Guevarra, who came to Hong Kong in 1987, said she spent about HK$12,000 a year to send her four children to school, and another HK$3,000 a year on long-distance calls.

"It's easy to go into debt here, and more helpers are going to financing companies for loans," she said. "With classes opening this month in the Philippines, everyone's feeling the pressure."

The wage hike comes amid public outcry for a universal minimum wage in Hong Kong, where an estimated 700,000 workers - 40 percent more than five years ago - spend 60 hours or more per week at work without receiving overtime payment.

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions legislator Chan Yuen-han approved of the HK$80 raise if it was in line with economic indicators. However, she continued to urge the government to introduce a minimum wage law for all workers in Hong Kong.