Stop forcing domestic workers to clean windows, Philippine government insists after series of high-rise deaths
Meeting scheduled between labour ministers following growing calls in city to remove chore that ‘endangers lives’
The Philippines is pushing for Hong Kong employers to stop forcing Filipino domestic helpers to clean windows after several cases of maids plunging to their death from high-rise buildings this year.
Vice-consul Alex Vallespin said they would ask the government to take the dangerous practice off the list of duties for the city’s 180,000 Filipino maids.
He was speaking ahead of an expected meeting on Friday between the Philippines’ labour minister, Silvestre Bello, and his Hong Kong counterpart Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.
While the agenda for the meeting was unclear, Vallespin said his consulate held regular talks with the Labour Department, and the request would be made.
“It endangers the lives of the workers ... we will request that it be excluded,” Vallespin said.
Last month, a 35-year-old Filipino maid fell to her death in Tseung Kwan O while cleaning the windows of her employer’s flat. Domestic workers’ groups said about four helpers have plunged to their deaths this year.