With the advantages of language and labour cost-cutting, many of Shanghai's army of "mammies" are lining up to apply for housekeeping jobs in Hong Kong, according to the Shanghai Labour Daily.
Sources in the Shanghai Jinhao Housekeeper Company said they were now working on plans to send the first batch of Shanghai "mammies" to Hong Kong but this intake would be limited to five women only.
The company has reached an agreement with the Housekeeping Association in Hong Kong and in mid-March a Hong Kong representative from one of the co-operative housekeeping companies will travel to Shanghai to check on the quality of local "mammies".
If the Shanghai housekeepers pass scrutiny, they can go to work in Hong Kong.
But the conditions applying to Shanghai housekeepers wanting to work in Hong Kong are rather strict. They should be married women under 36 years old with at least a senior middle school education and a certificate of middle-class housekeeping.
The housekeeping market in Hong Kong has long been a monopoly of women from The Philippines whose monthly wages are as high as HK$4,000.
Shanghai "mammies" expect to be able to compete with Filipino women on both price and language.
However, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post, Shanghai lacks housekeepers of a standard high enough to carry out other duties apart from cleaning and cooking, such as receiving guests or helping to organize parties.
An official with a local housekeeping company said the city needs about 50,000 such "mammies" for expatriates and high-income families. They would be able to receive wages exceeding 2,000 yuan (US$242) per month.
(Shanghai Star March 4, 2003)
