Coronavirus: Hong Kong domestic helpers should be quarantined in government centres on arrival as most families do not want to house them initially, union says

Most employers do not want to share their home with new hires over initial 14-day period, Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies says

Up to 10,000 domestic helpers expected to arrive in Hong Kong to work over the summer, union estimates

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Domestic workers gather in Central on their day off on Sunday. Photo: May Tse

Published: 9:19pm, 14 Jun 2020Updated: 11:42pm, 14 Jun 2020

Employment agencies have called for newly hired domestic helpers to be quarantined in government centres on their arrival in Hong Kong, saying most families did not want to house them over the 14-day period.

Up to 10,000 maids are expected to flock to the city over the summer as the Philippines and Indonesia drop restrictions on their citizens heading overseas to work, the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies estimates.

“We all understand most Hong Kong families live in cramped conditions,” union chairman Thomas Chan said.

“Some 85 per cent of the employers we contacted cannot afford to spare a separate bedroom or a separate bathroom for their maid to use during the two-week quarantine period.”

Bed-space hostels managed by employment agencies were not suitable either, according to Chan.

“The employers are not trying to evade their responsibility. They are aware of the need for their maids to be kept under quarantine.

“We only want to suggest a better option for the government to consider. If it is a public health issue, it should be the government’s job to handle it, not for individual citizens.”