Letters | Domestic workers have held up Hong Kong’s economy through protests and a pandemic, so where are their consumption vouchers?

Readers discuss the exclusion of domestic workers from the consumption voucher scheme, Xi Jinping’s Hong Kong visit and the city’s future prospects, and what UK politicians had to say about the handover anniversary

Reading Time:3 minutes

A woman carries a child during heavy showers in Tin Hau on August 19, 2021. Many Hong Kong women are able to join the workforce thanks to the labour of domestic helpers. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 11:30am, 5 Jul 2022

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.

Why did the Hong Kong government exclude domestic helpers as a beneficiary of the consumption voucher scheme? This is hugely discriminatory.

The government should not forget that domestic helpers have been an invisible force behind Hong Kong’s economic development over the years. Through the city’s many ups and downs – the Sars outbreak, the Covid-19 pandemic, and social unrest – we domestic workers have been there for you. We never stopped looking after your families. Yet we are mostly invisible, undervalued and in some cases mistreated and underfed. Many of us do not have a decent room or bed to sleep on at night, and we don’t get much privacy either.

According to a 2019 report, migrant domestic workers contributed an estimated US$12.6 billion to the city’s economy in 2018, representing 3.6 per cent of the gross domestic product. One of our largest contributions to the local economy was in terms of childcare; valued at HK$40 per hour at an average of 3.85 hours per day, this worked out to HK$184,970.52 per year.

There are about 340,000 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Whether you admit it or not, we migrant workers help keep peace and order in your household so local men and women can work, study, and still enjoy life, knowing their children are in good hands while they keep winning in the business world and on the professional stage.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Domestic workers have held up Hong Kong’s economy through protests and a pandemic, so where are their consumption vouchers?

Letters | Domestic workers have held up Hong Kong’s economy through protests and a pandemic, so where are their consumption vouchers?