‘Landmark decision’: HK Labour Tribunal to allow video testimony from former Filipino domestic worker

Domestic workers gather on their day off.
Domestic workers gather on their day off.

In what advocates are calling a major victory for workers’ rights, Hong Kong’s Labour Tribunal yesterday ruled that it will allow a former Filipino domestic worker to appear in court via video link, paving the way for migrant workers to pursue claims from abroad.

According to a statement posted by Justice Without Borders (JWB), the tribunal granted permission for Mallorca Joenalyn Domingo to give evidence against her employer from the Philippines on September 16. The decision, the organization said, frees complainants from a prohibitively lengthy and expensive process that had previously forced them to remain in Hong Kong until the conclusion of their cases.

“Claimants can now go on with their lives without giving up their right to access justice,” JWB said in its statement. “It also means bad employers cannot escape responsibility by dragging their feet until their former employees go home.”

The “groundbreaking” case began in 2016, when Domingo sought compensation from her employer Ng Mei-shuen for unfair dismissal. She lodged a claim for HK$85,900 (US$10,950) to cover lost wages and the cost of travel between the Philippines and Hong Kong.

However, in 2017, Domingo had to return to the Philippines to care for her family — including two young children and a mother who was suffering from lung cancer — leaving her case in limbo. Given her husband’s limited income and long hours, she was unable to fly back to Hong Kong to continue to pursue her claim.

JWB says she is the first person to request to give evidence via video link to the Labour Tribunal.

https://www.facebook.com/HKFADWU/photos/pb.531542250245011.-2207520000.1550636551./2092216137510940/?type=3&theater

According to a JWB manual published in 2017, witnesses can give evidence via video link at the High Court and District Court but need to physically appear at tribunal hearings, and their claim can be struck if they are absent. In addition to being physically present at hearings, claimants appearing at the Labour Tribunal are also not allowed legal representation, although in some cases they can have a union representative.

Domingo’s case was also unique in that it was the first time that a union representative was allowed to appear before the tribunal on behalf of a worker who was not present, JWB said.

The requirement that domestic workers appear in person before the tribunal had previously forced those pursuing claims to stay in Hong Kong, often without work, with some forced to return to their home countries because they couldn’t afford to stay.

The tribunal originally rejected Domingo’s request to appear via video link, but in July, Hong Kong’s High Court overturned that decision, effectively reinstating her case and allowing her application to be heard again by the Labour Tribunal. The High Court also laid out guidelines for the future use of video link testimony in tribunal cases.

Kareena Teh, one of the lawyers advising Domingo pro bono, called the ruling “a long-awaited and just outcome.”

The High Court also requested a new presiding officer hear Domingo’s case.

Domingo will be represented by Shiella Grace Estrada, the secretary for the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU), who noted the significant precedent set by the case.

“I am thinking about the many migrant workers who will go to Justice Without Borders and FADWU and request for help like this in the future,” she was quoted as saying. “There are a lot of migrant workers seeking fair justice.”



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on