In February, the government announced HK$10,000 (US$1,274) worth of consumption vouchers for each Hong Kong permanent resident or new arrival from the mainland aged 18 and above, which are intended to relieve some of the burden on people and businesses in Hong Kong affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After many in the society suggested expanding the scheme to help more people, officials announced on Monday that those who would one day be eligible for permanent residency will be entitled to half the amount, or HK$5,000, in vouchers as well.
This group includes talents, entrepreneurs, and professionals coming to Hong Kong via various schemes as well as foreign students.
“We do think that given the affordability, given the overriding objective of stimulating the economy, it would be good to include additional beneficiaries so that we can share the joy of spending the consumption vouchers together,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan explained the rationale behind the expanded scheme.
But amidst all the fanfare, there is a glaring omission — around 400,000 foreign domestic workers in the city.
Most people who enter Hong Kong for employment can apply to be a permanent resident after residing in the city for seven years.
However, according to the Immigration Ordinance, certain workers are excluded from that avenue of becoming a PR, including foreign domestic workers and contract workers under a government importation of labor scheme.
Increasing financial pressure
Sringatin, the chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union, said it is unfair to exclude foreign domestic workers from the consumption voucher scheme.
“Everyone is facing the impact of COVID-19. We [domestic workers] are also fighting COVID-19 in Hong Kong,” she said.
“Why are they excluding migrant domestic workers? Just because we are low-class and low-skilled?”
Sringatin also said that the inflation in the prices of food, transport and other daily necessities is adding to the burden of the domestic workers, especially because the minimum wage for foreign domestic workers has been frozen for two years.
Officials announced last September that the minimum pay for this group of workers would remain at HK$4,630 due to an economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. But an allowance for workers who do not receive food from their employer went up by HK$52 to HK$1,173.
Johannie Tong from the Mission for Migrant Workers pointed out how, because of the pandemic, foreign domestic workers have had to remit more money to their family back home and spend more on COVID-related expenses.
She said a survey done by the charity before the recent wave of COVID-19 infections found that the financial pressure the workers faced increased a lot due to the pandemic, resulting in mental stress.
“Some even had to borrow money to remit to their family to tackle the virus,” Tong added.
Because of the lack of welfare assistance from the government, domestic workers are heavily reliant on donations.
Tong noted that a lot of Hongkongers would donate their consumption vouchers — part of which were handed out in April — to charities to help domestic workers, but because those are donations, they tend not to be a stable source of financial support.
Not the first time
Jessie Wong, the head of the budget and tax policy unit of the Financial Secretary’s Office, was asked by a host of the Commercial Radio program On a Clear Day on Tuesday why foreign domestic workers are excluded from the scheme.
She replied saying that it would be fine to not set limits on which groups of people can benefit from the vouchers if they were just looking at boosting consumption.
“However, we have to strike a balance as we have a commitment to using our finances effectively, and we have to consider fairness and voices in society, so we have to draw a line,” she said.
But many domestic workers say they are tired of being constantly excluded or targeted during the pandemic.
“It’s not the first time we are being sacrificed during COVID-19. Every time there is an outbreak, the Hong Kong government always tells foreign domestic workers to stay at home [on our day off],” Sringatin noted.
She added that some of these workers who were not allowed to go out on their day off during previous COVID-19 waves were not compensated for it.
“This is how the Hong Kong government really treats foreign domestic workers… They don’t recognize us as humans,” she said.
“We also contribute to Hong Kong and are no different from others. We are not just helping families, but also the society.”
