Coronavirus: Indonesia enters fray over Hong Kong’s proposed vaccination rules for domestic workers, as helper group files complaint

Indonesian consulate joins Filipino counterparts in calling for coronavirus measures to be applied fairly

New rules require helpers to undergo Covid-19 testing – vaccination requirements also proposed – when seeking work visas or contract renewals

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Hong Kong foreign domestic workers stood in long queues over the weekend after a mandatory Covid-19 testing order was put in place for the community. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 1:25pm, 3 May 2021Updated: 10:15am, 17 May 2021

The row over Hong Kong’s proposed new Covid-19 vaccination requirements for foreign domestic helpers deepened on Monday, with the Indonesian consulate also arguing that officials should apply the rules to other non-resident workers in the city if they must come into force.

Indonesia joined the Philippines in appealing for the fairer application of coronavirus measures as Hong Kong’s domestic workers lodged a formal complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over the changes.

Officials last week introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing and announced plans for compulsory vaccination for any of the city’s 370,000 helpers seeking work visas or contract renewals, a move the watchdog’s chief has already declared lawful.

The filing of the complaint, which came as the city confirmed just two imported Covid-19 cases from Russia and Indonesia, follows Philippine foreign affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr and the country’s consulate in Hong Kong suggesting the screening scheme “smacked of discrimination”. Both argued it should apply to other non-resident foreign workers as well.

A spokesman for the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong told the Post: “We believe that everyone in Hong Kong is having the same responsibility to help fight against the virus by maintaining personal and environmental hygiene as well as participating in the Covid-19 test and vaccination program.”

“If vaccination becomes a necessity to work in [Hong Kong], it should be applied also to other non-resident workers as well, and be clearly stated in the employment contract,” he added.

The consulate echoed an earlier Philippines statement in saying the Hong Kong government did not consult them before unveiling the new measures, adding that dialogue would have been preferable given the change “involves the substantive rights of our nationals”.