Governments in Asia must ensure domestic workers get their fair dues

They are often called the hidden workforce. But their numbers are huge: in Asia, more than 21 million women and men work as domestic workers, according to a new report from the International Labour Organisation. In fact, these are conservative estimates based on official statistics; many more have probably gone uncounted.

What is clear is that domestic work is a significant source of jobs, especially for women, and that the sector is growing fast across Asia - by 50 per cent over the past 15 years. Hong Kong alone now employs 300,000 foreign domestic workers.

Recently, the public debate in Hong Kong has focused on the question of residency for domestic workers who have worked in the city for many years. But a more fundamental question is often lost in the debate: do we treat domestic workers as equals, or as second-class workers?

Let's start with some of the basic rights that most of us take for granted - such as a day off, or a good night's sleep. If you are a domestic worker in Asia, you will most likely depend on the goodwill of your employer for these "luxuries". Because, as of 2010, a mere 3 per cent of Asia's domestic workers could turn to the labour laws to claim a weekly day of rest, and only 1 per cent could rely on a statutory limit of their working hours. Paid annual leave? Dream on, unless you are among the 3 per cent that are covered.

Other regions, namely Latin America with its 19.6 million domestic workers, show that better legal protection is feasible. Of course, compliance is not always perfect. Only a third of Brazil's domestic workers are enrolled under the social security scheme, but that is a huge improvement since the mid-1990s. And the wages of Brazil's domestic workers have doubled in real terms over the same period, largely due to increases in minimum wages, which cover these workers.

Like elsewhere, Hong Kong's domestic workers have taken to the streets to protest against poor working conditions. It's true that, in some respects, they are better off than many of their counterparts elsewhere in Asia. The familiar scene of domestic workers gathering in Central on Sundays is testimony to their right to a weekly day of rest. And the minimum allowable wage (HK$ 3,920 per month) sets a floor for their wages, although live-in domestic workers remain exempt from the rates of the Minimum Wage Ordinance.