First-time South Asian domestic workers were at greater risk of being underpaid and abused by employers in Hong Kong, a coalition of unions and organisations has said, urging the government to do more to protect the rights of workers.
Members of the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions hold a press conference to discuss cases of South Asian domestic workers being underpaid and abused, on December 15, 2024. Photo: FADWU.
The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) during a press conference on Sunday warned that it was “common practice” for domestic workers from India and Nepal to be “severely” underpaid.
FADWU said it had handled eight cases of South Asian domestic workers being underpaid and abused in the past two years. None were paid the minimum allowable wage, which currently stands at HK$4,990 per month, and none were allowed a full rest day per week, as is required by domestic workers’ employment contracts.
“In one extreme case, the employer did not pay the worker at all and did not give any rest day for 4 months. The worker was also physically assaulted and finally ran away,” FADWU said.
Chuni Thapa, chair of the Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers (UNDW) and FADWU’s treasurer, said: “It is common that first-timer South Asian domestic workers are underpaid. The employers think they bring the workers to Hong Kong, they can pay less… Workers don’t know the minimum wage protection in Hong Kong, they just follow what the employers say.”
One worker who went to FADWU and UNDW for help was told by their employer that Indians were subject to a different minimum wage and as such they were being paid in accordance with the law.
Migrant domestic workers sit in front of a luxury fragrance advertisement in Hong Kong, on November 5, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“Employers don’t want the workers to find out about their rights.” Chuni said. One worker was banned from speaking to others on rest days, and their employer checked their phone every day. According to FADWU, after the worker filed a claim against the employer, the employer threatened the worker’s friends against providing evidence or witness statements.
“The employers we deal with are not first-time mistreating domestic workers. They know the law but still break it, because there are no consequences. That’s why they become bolder every time,” said Sarah Pun, vice chairperson of UNDW.
A 2016 survey conducted by the UNDW found that almost half of Nepali-speaking domestic workers were paid less than the minimum wage, with FADWU warning on Sunday that the eight cases it had offered assistance to likely represented the tip of the iceberg.
“FADWU has handled underpayment cases of other nationalities, but we noticed that every South Asian domestic worker we handled has been underpaid,” the workers’ rights group said. “It is urgent for the government to pay attention to these groups.”
Despite its efforts to report the cases to the Labour Department, and workers’ willingness to aid with any pursuant legal procedures, FADWU said none of the employers had been prosecuted.
Labour Department. Photo: Wikicommons.
HKFP has reached out to the Labour Department for comment.
According to Immigration Department data, there were more than 356,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong in 2023, mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia. They are employed in households across the city to cook, clean, raise children, and look after the elderly.
Domestic workers are subject to different labour policies than other Hong Kong employees; they are given just one day off a week, have no set standard working hours, and have no pathway to residency. Additionally, they must live in their employer’s home – a policy known as the “live-in” rule.
Measures are also in place to discourage domestic workers from leaving one position to search for a better one. Those who do not finish their contract are given 14 days to find a new employer before having to return to their home country.
Labour rights advocates have long opposed the policy, saying it discourages domestic workers from leaving abusive bosses. The government says the rule is needed to prevent domestic workers from overstaying their visas and working illegally.
