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Agnes Lam

A migrant workers' concern group has called on the Labour and Welfare Bureau  to conduct random  visits to determine  if domestic helpers are mistreated by their employers.
The call came after a survey conducted by the Caritas Community Development Service found that one-third of the 384 maids from Southeast Asian countries questioned said their employers  did not provide them with the required free facilities and daily necessities.
The 12-month survey  ended in July.
Employers are required to provide their domestic workers with free basic facilities  such as  bed, toilet and bathing facilities,  according to the standard employment contract.
The Immigration Department  would not approve a contract if employers failed to do so.
'Our findings show the  services that most workers  had to buy at their own expense were toilet and bathing facilities. Some were not given a bed and had to sleep on the floor  on a mattress,' said  group leader  Wesley Man Siu-chun.
Underpayment was another problem.  Though the minimum allowable wage is HK$3,480 a month, the poll  found nearly 10 per cent of the workers interviewed were underpaid.
The problem was more serious for Indonesian workers, with 14 per cent of the 212 domestic helpers polled saying   their salaries ranged between HK$1,800 and HK$2,000.
'Recruitment agencies in Indonesia and Hong Kong mislead the workers, saying if they lower their salary to HK$2,000 or less, they would have a higher chance of being hired,' Ms Man said.
'These agencies lie to them and tell them if they insist on getting the minimum allowable wage, they will have little chance of being employed in Hong Kong. So these maids with little education are misled to take lower pay.'
Ms Man said the practice of hiring through agencies  applied only to Indonesian maids, as  is required by their government.
'We appeal to the Indonesian government to abolish this practice, which has been causing an exploitation of workers for years,' Ms Man said.
'We also call on the Hong Kong government to step up efforts to check whether domestic helpers are being given the terms and salaries promised in their contracts.'
One  Indonesian worker who gave her name as Mimi said her employer not only  did not provide her with the basic facilities, but also refused to provide her with accommodation.
'My boss asked me if I wanted to sleep with her husband or her grown sons when I said I wanted to stay at her house. I was left with no choice and had to rent a room. But my boss refused to pay my rent, electricity and water bills and travel expenses,' she said.
'My boss also cut my salary to only HK$1,500, which was not even enough to cover all my expenses for living outside my workplace,' she added.



Random home visits urged to help protect domestic workers