Hong Kong's economic miracle was created by China's economic reform and open-door policy in the 1970s. This dramatic shift of our economy saw the rise of a new middle class, providing opportunities for both parents to work. The new trend gave rise to the need for domestic helpers to take care of young children and elderly grandparents at home.
To satisfy an increasing demand, the government introduced legislation in 1973 for the employment of domestic helpers. But because of political sensitivity during those years, when Hong Kong was still under British rule, the new laws did not allow mainlanders to do such work in Hong Kong.
According to the Immigration Department, there are more than 260,000 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, of whom 90 per cent are from Indonesia and the Philippines, with the rest mainly from Thailand.
There is an increasing demand for Indonesian and Thai maids over Filipinos because most of them can speak Cantonese. This means language is a priority for some employers, especially when the maid has to care for the young and the elderly.
The Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association has argued for years that, since the government has kept its door wide open to foreign domestic helpers, it should also extend the same policy to cover mainland maids, offering them equal opportunities to work here.
Now their wish may be one step closer to reality following a government think tank proposal to look into the possibility of allowing the employment of mainland maids if certain key questions can be addressed.
The Central Policy Unit has not denied that there is a job market for mainland domestic helpers, because employers prefer to hire someone who comes from a similar cultural background and can speak the same language.