 The International Domestic Workers Federation has complained that the MAW rose by only 3.9 percent (or HK$150) from 1998 to 2012, failing to keep pace with Hong Kong's median monthly income (which rose over 15 percent during the same period).Since Hong Kong is a benchmark market for Asian migrant workers, there is pressure to keep wages low.Wages were also held in check by competition from Indonesian workers, who began arriving in large numbers during the 1990s.