Opinion | How multinationals can help end the abuse of domestic workers in Hong Kong
Many corporations that have spoken up for the Black Lives Matter movement are silent on contemporary slavery in Asian business hubs. If they are committed to ending the scourge, they should ensure employees hire domestic workers ethically
In response to the Black Lives Matter protests, numerous multinational corporations have rightly expressed outrage at the legacy of slavery and ongoing racial discrimination in the United States and beyond. Many have pledged to review their business practices in light of the protests. Some have existing commitments to combat contemporary slavery – largely due to legislation such as Britain’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 and California’s Transparency in Supply Chains Act (2010).
Although welcome, such public statements stand in stark contrast to their silence on contemporary slavery in the Asian business hubs where they operate, including Hong Kong. Southeast Asian women employed as domestic workers in these cities face exploitation by both employers and employment agencies.
Furthermore, the expatriate employees multinationals bring in may unwittingly be using the agencies that charge illegal fees and contribute to forced labour trafficking. Research, including by Amnesty International and Rights Exposure, shows that the trafficking of migrant domestic workers to Hong Kong for labour exploitation is widespread and systematic. Most of these abuses are rooted in the charging of illegal and excessive fees by employment agencies.
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A report by the Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions in 2018 found that 57 per cent of migrant domestic workers interviewed were charged illegal fees and that96 per cent of agencies were failing to comply with key aspects of the Hong Kong government’s code of practice. Newly arrived domestic workers interviewed for the research were charged on average US$1,154 by Hong Kong agencies – approximately 32 per cent of the Philippines’ gross national income per capita.
The need to recoup these illegal fees makes it more difficult for the women to leave abusive jobs. Their situation is made worse in Hong Kong by restrictions on changing jobs. Unscrupulous agencies and employers know this only too well and, for the women, this often leads to long working hours, inadequate food, verbal and physical abuse, and denial of rest days.
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From Erwiana Sulistyaningsih to Baby Jane Allas, abuse of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong prompts calls for better protection
From Erwiana Sulistyaningsih to Baby Jane Allas, abuse of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong prompts calls for better protection
To understand how widespread and serious the situation is, you only need to look at the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. In June this year, Hong Kong was downgraded for the second time in five years, and now ranks alongside Cambodia, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
