We do not want a second Erwiana, says Indonesia's top diplomat in Hong Kong, as complaints almost halve since abuse case
Complaints have almost halved since the Indonesian consulate stepped up its efforts in wake of abuse case, says country's envoy in HK
Since the horrific abuse of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih shocked the world and raised awareness of the plight of some domestic helpers in Hong Kong, the number of Indonesians seeking help from their consulate in the city over employment disputes has almost halved.
The country's consul general in Hong Kong, Chalief Akbar, said the drop reflected the efforts his office had made to ensure Indonesian citizens were protected.
"We don't want that kind of case to be repeated in the future," Akbar said.
Read more: 'They consider me a father': Indonesian envoy in Hong Kong on life in a 'home territory' with 150,000 domestic helpers
"We have a close relation with relevant offices here in Hong Kong to deal with the issues of Indonesian workers. We have regular meetings with the labour and immigration [departments], as well as the police."
Erwiana's case came to light in January last year when she was spotted with bruises over her body at Hong Kong International Airport after her employer tried to send her back to Indonesia.
Akbar, a seasoned diplomat, said about 1,000 Indonesians sought help from the consulate in 2013. The number dropped to 600 last year. Some of the helpers sought help because they were not being paid the legal minimum wage or they were forced to work long hours, he said.
Consular staff have regular contact with employment agencies to ensure they respect the rights of the helpers. The consulate also organises welcoming sessions twice a week for Indonesians who come to Hong Kong as domestic helpers to let them know their rights.
However, Eni Lestari, an Indonesian and spokeswoman of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, disagreed with Akbar's account and said more Indonesians now turned to helpers groups as they found that the consulate could offer little help.
"Indonesians have little confidence in the consulate," she said.
The Labour Department handled 1,913 employment claims in 2014 involving helpers, down sharply from 3,186 in 2013 and 3,503 in 2012. Some of the disputes concerned underpayment and non-payment of wages.
Five agencies had their licences revoked or were denied renewal last year, compared with four in 2013. The department said there were 2,755 agencies in the city, but Akbar said only 236 were accredited with his consulate.
Hong Kong law does not require agencies to register their business with the consulate, and Akbar said these were also recruiting from Indonesia.
But accreditation was important, he said, because if anything happened to the helpers they would know which agency was responsible. The consulate had been running newspaper adverts in recent months, urging agencies to register with the consulate.
Dozens of agencies had since approached the consulate and said they wanted to be accredited, he said.
Of the 336,699 helpers in Hong Kong as of June, 151,380 were Indonesians, Immigration Department figures showed.
