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| Dangerous window cleaning by FDHs such as this has been banned since January 2017 (File) |
A 38-year-old Filipina domestic worker fell from a flat in Cheung Sha Wan earlier today, and police said it happened while she was cleaning windows.
The police report said staff at the site reported seeing the Filipina lying on a platform in Manhattan Hill at 1 Po Lun Street, Cheung Sha Wan at 11:23am today, May 15.
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Officers who arrived at the scene rushed the victim to Caritas Hospital in a coma, where she was later certified dead.
“After initial investigation, the personnel believed that the subject fell (while) cleaning a unit on the site,” said the police report.
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However, the exact cause of death will still have to be determined after an autopsy.
Under the revised standard employment contract of FDHs which took effect on Jan 1, 2017, dangerous window-cleaning is strictly prohibited.
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This means, employers cannot require FDHs to clean the outside part of windows unless it is located on the ground floor or adjacent to a safe part of a balcony or a common corridor.
While cleaning, such windows must be fitted with a locked grille and no part of the helper’s body extends beyond the ledge except the arms.
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Both the helper and the employer are obliged to follow this prohibition. In case a helper is terminated for refusing to undertake risky window-cleaning, she may seek the help of the Labour Department for redress.
In cases of death like this one, the helper’s next-of-kin should be entitled to employee compensation, as what happened in the case of Rinnalyn Dulluog whose fall from a Lohas Park high rise in August 2016 sparked calls for a ban on window-cleaning.
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