New | Four in five maid agencies operate without licenses from Indonesia

Only about 200 of 1,000 foreign domestic helper agencies in Hong Kong have obtained licenses from the Indonesian consulate to bring in maids from the country, an agencies' representative said on Tuesday.

Teresa Liu Tsui-lan, vice-chairwoman of the General Chamber of Manpower Agencies, said these agencies needed to get a licence from the Hong Kong government to run businesses. But she said it was very easy to get one.

“You need to have an office and you cannot have criminal records...but some people manage to get a licence even if their offices are their home,” Liu said.

A bigger problem is the agencies are not required to get a licence from the Indonesian consulate under Hong Kong’s law, Liu said.

The consulate has a stricter set of licensing standards, such as requiring agencies to arrange a boarding house for domestic helpers to gather on their day-offs, and a translator to help the agencies communicate with the workers.

“The government should not let them run businesses in Hong Kong if they do not have licence from the consulate,” she added.