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| Migrant workers from various countries joined the first May Day protest in HK in 6 years |
Migrant organizations under the banner of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body marked International Labor Day by holding its first rally in six years outside the Central Government Offices in Central to renew calls for better pay and working conditions.
Separately, Filipino migrants led by United Filipinos (Migrante) in Hong Kong and Bayan Hong Kong and Macau picketed the Philippine Consulate offices in Admiralty to urge for a higher minimum wage for local workers and more job opportunities to stem the flow of migration.
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| Unifil-Migrante urged better working conditions for Filipinos at Consulate protest |
AMCB said that after three decades of fighting for migrant domestic workers’ rights in Hong Kong, it has seen no significant improvement to their working conditions. In fact, in most key areas identified as crucial to improving the lives of MDWs, the change has been for the worse.
The group said that a consultation session it organized on April 26 involving 50 people, 20 of whom represented migrant organizations, it emerged that MDWs now work longer hours, are not given enough time to rest on their days off, share rest spaces with members of their employer’s families, are earning far less than a living wage, and still pay exorbitant fees to land jobs abroad.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
On the issue of long work hours, AMCB said more than half of the MDWs surveyed, or 64%, said they work from 18-20 hours per day, even longer than the 16 hours that many migrant support groups had condemned in the past. Some of the workers reportedly wake up at 5:45am and work until 1am the next day.
An overwhelming majority, or 80%, said they are made to work before and after their days-off. Some said they could only leave their employer’s house at around 10am, and are told to return by 7pm.
As regards accommodation, 70% said they share a room with children or elderly members of the household, while the remaining 30% (15 out of 50) have their own room.
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| AMCB reiterates call for $6,172 minimum wage for migrant workers |
While AMCB and other migrant groups have long campaigned for a living wage of at least HK$6,000 a month for MDWs, the current level is just over HK$5,000. Those who have been with their employers for around a decade still earn no more than HK$5,500.
Worse, said the AMCB, a worrying 6% are not even paid the minimum wage, citing fear of losing their job as the reason for not complaining.
On top of all these, said AMCB, employment agencies continue to charge high fees for recruiting domestic workers from overseas, with the current charge averaging from HK$13,000 to HK$30,000.
Another disturbing finding was that 3 out of the 50 respondents were still being made to do dangerous window cleaning, despite this being banned by the Hong Kong government since 2017 in the wake of a rise in the number of MDWs who fell from height while doing this chore.
Premature termination of contracts remains significant, with almost 16% (8 out of 50) of the respondents saying they were sacked within just 9 days to 4 months of their employment, and 6% after working for between 7 months to a year. In many of these cases said the AMCB, no clear or valid reason was given for the termination.
Given these findings, the AMCB reiterated calls for a ‘living wage’’for MDWs of no less than HK$6,712 a month and HK$3,123 food allowance.
They again demanded legislation that will mandate no less than a continuous 11-hour rest period between two consecutive days for MDWs, plus meal breaks; and define clearly what “suitable accommodation” and “decent food” in their contract mean.
As before, AMCB reiterated a review of the government’s long-standing policy on the live-in requirement for MDWs and the so-called two-week rule which mandates that they must leave Hong Kong within 14 days of their being terminated.
They also called for a crackdown on errant employment agencies,
particularly those that charge exorbitant fees.
AMCB vowed that “until the Hong Kong government finally hears and resolves the issues that make workers suffer,” it will continue fighting for humane treatment for all workers in the city.
