香港劳工及福利局局长孙玉菡表示，根据一项新的先导计划，香港最快将于2027年下半年开始输入数百名外来家庭照顾员，其薪酬将比外籍家庭佣工高出最多20%。
Hong Kong will begin importing hundreds of foreign domestic carers as early as the second half of 2027 under a new pilot scheme, with their pay up to 20 per cent higher than that of domestic helpers, the city’s labour minister has said.
孙玉菡周日在一个电视节目上表示，这些照顾员将同时具备专业长者照护技能和一般家务能力，并须先在原居地完成150小时的课程。
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Sunday that the carers would be equipped with both specialised elderly care skills and general domestic capabilities, and would first need to complete a 150-hour course in their home country.
孙玉菡说：“我们现在需要在香港寻找一个专业机构，建立机制确保他们完成课程，真正具备相关技能，因为我明白在先导计划下，市民会关注这些工人能否胜任工作。”他补充说，先导计划预计明年下半年启动。
“We now need to find a professional organisation in Hong Kong for a mechanism to ensure they finish the course and are truly equipped with those skills, because I understand that in the pilot scheme, residents will be concerned whether the workers can perform their tasks,” Sun said on a television programme. The pilot scheme was expected to start in the second half of next year, he added.
香港目前约有38万名外籍家庭佣工，主要来自菲律宾和印尼，在雇主家中从事一般家务工作。
Hong Kong currently has around 380,000 foreign domestic helpers, mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, who carry out general housework duties in their employers’ homes.
社会福利部门已资助约1000名此类工人修读10小时课程，学习急救和基本长者照护。
The Social Welfare Department has sponsored around 1,000 of these workers to undertake a 10-hour course to learn first aid and basic elderly care.
孙玉菡表示，拟引入的专业照顾员将完成类似于现有专业照顾员培训的课程，以装备他们更先进的技能。课程将由政府认可的业界授权专业团体设计及认证。
Sun said the intended specialised carers would complete a course that would be similar to existing training for professional carers, to equip them with more advanced skills. The course would be designed and accredited by authorised professional bodies in the industry that are recognised by the government.
孙玉菡补充说，这些照顾员仍需承担家务工作，薪酬将比普通家庭佣工高10%至20%。其薪酬机制也将与外籍家庭佣工相似。
Sun added that these carers would still be expected to take on housework duties and would be paid 10 to 20 per cent more than their generalist counterparts. Their pay scale mechanism would also be similar to that of foreign domestic helpers.
政府周五宣布，外籍家庭佣工最低工资将上调2.35%至每月5220港元（约670美元），新费率适用于周六或之后签署的所有合约。
The government announced on Friday that the minimum wage for domestic workers would rise by 2.35 per cent to HK$5,220 (US$670) per month, with the new rate applying to all contracts signed on or after Saturday.
雇主必须为帮佣提供免费餐食，或每月支付1,236港元的伙食津贴。
Employers would have to provide free food to their helpers or pay a food allowance of HK$1,236 a month.
另外，孙先生表示，当局将考虑推行一种由政府出资建设、交由私营机构运营的养老院新模式。
Separately, Sun said authorities would consider a new model of publicly built care homes for the elderly that would be run by private operators.
“如果社区居民以低收入人群为主，我们仍会主要提供补贴性服务；若社区以中产阶级为主，我们认为就能为市场提供更多选择，”他在同一节目中说道。
“If the community is mainly low income, we will still mainly provide subsidised services. If the community is middle class, then we think we can provide more options for the market,” he said on the same programme.
根据官方统计数据，65岁及以上的老年人共有198万人，占总人口的26%。预计到2046年，这一比例将升至36%，对应人数达295万人。
According to official statistics, 1.98 million people, or 26 per cent of the population, are aged 65 or above. The figure is projected to rise to 36 per cent of the population by 2046, or 2.95 million people.
近年来，压力问题也日益受到关注。多起涉及护老者及其家属的杀人后自杀悲剧频频见诸报端。
Stress has also emerged as a concern in recent years, as murder-suicide tragedies involving elderly carers and family members have made headlines.
今年6月，孙先生就一起悲剧事件发表评论：一名70岁男子被发现吊死在葵涌的公寓内，其78岁的妻子也在现场被发现昏迷不醒，随后不幸离世。孙先生称此事件令人痛心。
In June, Sun commented on a case in which a 70-year-old man was found hanging in his Kwai Chung flat, while his 78-year-old wife was discovered unconscious there and later pronounced dead, calling it a tragedy.
非政府组织“防止自杀协会”去年开展的一项调查显示，在接受调查的942名护老者中，有37%的人表示自己承受着极大的压力。
A survey by the NGO Suicide Prevention Services last year found that 37 per cent of 942 carers polled reported a high level of stress.