The crushed dreams of helpers like Maricel Angeles can be seen as a failure of the government to enforce policies that are sound, rectify ones that are flawed, or ensure that helpers' interests are protected and valued. The problems start with a failure to curb exorbitant placement fees charged by recruiters, which often send the maids into a spiral of heavy debt. Even though the Philippines banned placement fees in 2006 and Hong Kong and Indonesia set limits on the amount a recruitment agency can charge, many workers still have to pay "triple to quadruple" what is allowed by regulations, according to Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Hong Kong-based Mission for Migrant Workers, one of the oldest NGOs for the sector in Hong Kong. Since 2008, Indonesia has only allowed agencies to charge training fees of up to HK$15,500 - equivalent to four to five months' salary. Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance says the recruitment fee must not exceed 10 per cent of the worker's first month's pay. Yet recruiters, or their affiliated loan agencies, sometimes charged fees equivalent to 90 per cent of a maid's monthly pay, said Tellez, who holds seminars on Sundays with Hong Kong helpers victimised by aggressive and unlicensed loan sharks. Tang Wing-fai, the director of the Christian Institute NGO, which works with a pro-helpers alliance called Open Door, said he had encountered dishonest recruitment firms that confiscated their workers' passports. Tang, who has employed Indonesian helpers since 2005, said he and his wife paid about HK$4,000 in fees to the Hong Kong-based agencies each time they hired a helper - a sum far lower than that which many workers themselves have to pay. Labour-rights advocates in Hong Kong fault a lack of strict policing by the government of the hundreds of agencies that operate in the city. They also criticise the lack of an effective blacklist in Hong Kong, which would show which firms workers should avoid. Hong Kong's Employment Agencies Administration, under the Labour Department, does not publish the names of punished or unlicensed recruiters. Rather, it only lists verified agencies in the government's limited-circulation Gazette each year. People who want to access the online version of this list have to navigate confusing links and a non-user-friendly database. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration takes a more proactive approach, publishing blacklists on Twitter and its official website. Fish Ip Pui-yu, Asia coordinator for the International Domestic Workers' Network, says that as a result of high fees, the domestic helpers become trapped in a "debt bondage system". "This can keep the domestic worker bonded to the job even when the workers are ill-treated, because if you leave the job, then you can't pay back the agency fees," said Ip, who has campaigned for helpers' rights since 1999.
