They wash your underwear, feed your babies, and put hot food on the table. Iron your clothes, scrub the toilet, and play with your toddlers. Because of helpers, Hong Kong’s working families are able to earn double incomes.
As the backbone of Hong Kong’s middle class and the engine of its economy, don’t helpers deserve our protection and better benefits?
Overworked, held hostage to debt by greedy agencies, paid far below minimum wage and often abused, domestic helpers are some of the most marginalised communities in our first-world city. If you are outraged by the horrifying abuse suffered by Indonesian helper Erwiana and Kartika Puspitasari, where a couple was rightfully jailed, enough talk — here’s four things you can do:
1. Join the Hong Kong Helper’s Campaign
Launched this week by Tom Grundy co-founder of Hongwrong.com, the Hong Kong Helper’s Campaign has received a lot of international press for its advocacy to improve the conditions of domestic helpers through three simple and achievable campaign points: scrap the two-week rule (domestic helpers have to leave Hong Kong within a fortnight if not in employment), enforce maximum working hours, and stop illegal agency fees.
Other than spreading the word, you can also sign the petition for Amnesty International to protect the rights of Indonesian helpers, donate or volunteer for the campaign, or write letters to Hong Kong’s key players to lobby for change. Read all about how to do these things here.
2. Boycott greedy agencies and hire directly
In case you don’t already know, the standard practice among agencies when you hire a domestic helper overseas is to deduct about seven to eight months of wages in advance in exchange for placing them with a family. This discourages helpers from escaping abusive situations as they will be in debt for months on end, even though it is illegal. In Erwiana’s case, her agency, Chan’s Asia, pressured her to keep working for her abusive employer despite severe injuries to pay back fees of HK$18,000.
In addition, four in five maid agencies operate without licenses from Indonesia, according to the SCMP, since agencies are not required to get a licence from the Indonesian consulate under Hong Kong law. This exempts them from stricter licensing requirements like requiring a boarding house or translators.
A few agencies in Hong Kong do not take any fees from helpers, such as Maid for You. You can also hire helpers directly and bypass an agency by reaching out to helpers already in Hong Kong and looking for employment on websites like Asiaxpat, Geoexpat, Kijiji, and the Facebook Hong Kong Helpers group.
3. Treat your helper well
This goes without saying but you will be surprised at how many people are unclear about the laws set by the Labour Department to protect helpers, such as having a minimum of 24 hours off on their rest days or that it is illegal to ask helpers to work on their rest days or in another home. The Labour Department has an excellent and well-written guide online that addresses issues such as rest days, maternity protection, wages, and other issues, which every employer should read before taking on a helper. If the guide doesn’t address your question, the Hong Kong Helpers group on Facebook should.
In addition, we think that at the very least, a helper should have her own room for privacy and work reasonable hours, which, because of Hong Kong’s cramped conditions, the employer does not always provide. After all, a happy helper will be a better caregiver for your family and do her work more efficiently.
4. Report abuse and ask your helper to tell her friends about these resources
There are many NGOs and charities devoted to domestic helpers in Hong Kong, including the Helpers for Domestic Helpers which offers legal advice and guidance to recover compensation, Bethune House, a temporary shelter for women migrant workers, Enrich, a charity that provides financial literacy training and business course for minorities, and many others, a complete list of which could be found here on the HK Helpers Campaign website.
Helpers should check out this very useful page compiled by the Helpers Campaign, which puts together practical information like consulate numbers and their rights.
Photo: Philippe Lopez, AFP
