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| Indonesian rights activist Eni Lestari with a poster showing a key demand for migrant workers |
The call was made at a joint press conference held on Chater Road
Among those who spoke was Carol Ng, chairperson of the HK
Confederation of Trade Union, who accused the government of not acting quickly
enough to close the borders with China
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“This epidemic shouldn’t have been handled this way. If the
majority of the borders were closed earlier, and started the isolation earlier,
the community in Hong Kong wouldn’t have to
pay such a high cost,” Ng said.
She said among those hardest hit by this government neglect
are the foreign domestic workers who need to do much of the cleaning up and the
sterilizing, not to mention looking after the employer’s family who mostly stay
at home to avoid infection.
“But what do they get (in turn)? They are being restricted
from going out on Sunday, on their day off (with their employers) telling them,
‘better stay home.’
She said her group has been receiving reports of migrant
workers being terminated by their employers just for insisting on taking their
day off.
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| Carol Ng speaks while Shiela Tebia- Bonifacio looks on |
Shiela Tebia-Bonifacio, spokesperson of Asian Migrants
Coordinating Body, highlighted the many problems faced by migrant domestic
workers, including being paid “slave wage,” having to work more than 16 hours a
day, and not being given “humane accommodation.”
The spread of the coronavirus disease or Covid-10, has made
their situation worse, said Bonifacio.
“It has highlighted the problem of migrant domestic workers
with long hours and lack of proper accommodation. Much of the workload has
tripled because the members of the family are all present due to the suspension
of classes and employers are working from home.”
In addition, she said the migrant workers are expected to
clean the house frequently and intensively, using potentially harmful cleaning
agents like bleach.
But to make matters worse, she said the HK Labour Department
has issued the discriminatory advisory that FDWs should consider staying at
home on their rest day to prevent the spread of the virus.
Earlier, Bonifacio also led Filipino migrant organizations
in marking International Women’s Day by hitting out at the Philippine
government for imposing additional fees on migrant workers, most of whom are
women.
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| Tebia, Wu and Ng are joined at the table by legislator Helen Wong and ex-legislator Leung Kwong-hung |
She also said the Duterte government’s imposition of a
travel ban to Hong Kong has left thousands of
overseas Filipino workers stranded in the country, “wreaking havoc on their
livelihood.”
Also expressing solidarity was Democratic Party legislator
Helena Wong, who paid tribute to the migrant workers, saying that without them
many Hong Kong people would not be able to go
out to work.
Wong added, “We hope the government will listen to your
demands and improve the working conditions as well as the working hours of
migrant workers.”
Another speaker, Meilin Wu of the HK Women Workers
Association, called on the government to provide more help to women who are
forced to stay at home because they have to look after their children or other
family members.
In a joint statement with Gabriela HK, the HKWWA also called
on the government to alleviate poverty, implement a living wage for all,
recognize domestic work as work, and improve the working conditions of
migrants.
The day-long celebration was highlighted by various groups
dancing to the “One Billion Rising” worldwide campaign to end violence against
women.
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