Undercover investigation exposes the Hong Kong employment agencies still exploiting domestic workers for profit
Little more than a year after new code of practice was introduced over 50 per cent of helpers are being charged illegally high fees, Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Union study shows
An undercover investigation has exposed unscrupulous bosses ripping off Hong Kong’s domestic workers by making them pay illegally high fees to get a job – despite last year’s official guidelines to the contrary.
Research by the Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Union (FADWU) has uncovered further evidence of employment agencies charging some of the city’s poorest workers significantly more than allowed.
Video footage taken in secret by volunteers at seven agencies in the city show firms demanding anywhere between HK$3,500 (US$448) to HK$10,000 for job placements – eight to 20 times over the legal limit.
The FADWU carried out its investigation between July 2017 and March this year, and was the first aimed at assessing the impact of a new voluntary code of conduct for the industry put into effect by the government last January.
The code underlines the statutory requirements and “minimum standards” that employment agencies must follow, including keeping such fees below 10 per cent of the first month’s wages.