The Plight of Hong Kong Maids

Life for live-in domestic maids in Hong Kong has never been easy. They aren’t required to be paid a minimum hourly wage. Well, now, immigrant workers are speaking out against not only what they call unfair compensation, but abuse they face at the hands of their employers.

Hong Kong’s 260,000 foreign domestic helpers revel in their weekly day off.

But life for Hong Kong’s migrant workforce is anything but easy.

With standard contracts in place to afford them basic rights, a minimum $460 per month, a day off a week and medical cover, live-in helpers can find themselves in legal limbo if the terms are violated.

Bethune House, run by Edwina Antonio-Santoyo, offers shelter, food and legal advice for helpers who’s contracts have been breached.

[Edwina Antonio-Santoyo, Bethune House Manager]:
„These are the women who are brave enough to say that ‚I am abused, I’m sexually harassed, I’m underpaid‘. So these are those who really can’t bear the situation anymore. Otherwise it’s a ‚put up, or pack up situation.“

Unable to return home, foreign domestic helpers are also not allowed to work in Hong Kong until their cases are settled in the courts.

Indonesian Kris Wander has lived at Bethune House for three years, while the case against her violent employer goes into a lengthy appeals process.

[Kris Wandar, Indonesian Helper]:
„If he gets angry he always use the hand to hit me or kick me. Actually, this is not the first time.“

Hong Kong’s Labor Department’s assistant commissioner, Ngai Fong, said live-in helpers are excluded from them minimum wage because they are afforded benefits that ordinary hourly workers are not entitled to like food and board.

But he adds they make a huge contribution to Hong Kong’s workforce by taking on domestic duties.

[Ngai Fong, H.K. Labor Department]:
„In the last 10 years, the women labor participation rate has risen 10 percent from 67 percent to 77 percent, which is a lot.“

The migration of workers from poor countries to more affluent ones is illustrative of Asia’s gaping wealth gap, with cities like Hong Kong and Singapore able to employ maids en masse from poorer neighboring countries.

(NTDTV)