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| The Mission's staff and volunteers on a community outreach project |
The oldest migrant support organization in Hong Kong, the Mission
In particular, the Mission said the government should ensure
that the worker is paid a salary during the two-week quarantine period, and to
extend financial help to employers who
find it difficult paying for the cost of isolating their helper.
The bottomline, said the Mission in a statement issued
today, Jul 7, is that the migrant worker is given free accommodation, medical
support and food during the compulsory quarantine period, with their cultural
and religious beliefs given due consideration.
“Providing a free quarantine facility, in the maximum,
should be considered,” said the Mission
The non-government organization decried the statement issued
earlier by Labour Secretary Law Chi-kwong that the government is not inclined
to help facilitate the entry of more migrant workers, as that will go against
the strategy of restricting their movement.
The Mission said, “It is very
disappointing that instead of addressing the reality of live-in situations faced
by thousands of MDWs (migrant domestic workers), the Hong
Kong government…further put the burden on MFWs and their employers
in responding to the Covid-19 outbreak.”
The Mission is the latest
group to call on government for help in easing the entry of foreign domestic
helpers into Hong Kong.
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| Staff of the Mission pose with clients who just received food aid from the NGO's donors |
Earlier, a group of employment
agencies has urged the setting up of a centralized quarantine center for all arriving
migrant workers, while lawmaker Eunice Yeung called on the government to
help employers pay for the cost of hotel quarantine.
All of them said that home
quarantine is not ideal for migrant workers, given the tiny living spaces in Hong Kong .
But while agreeing that home
quarantine may not be suitable, Law has said that extending help by either
providing a quarantine facility, or helping employers foot the cost of a hotel
stay for the workers, was out of the question.
Thomas Chan, chair of the Hong Kong
Union of Employment Agencies which called for a centralized quarantine for
helpers, said the government is avoiding its responsibility to ensure a safe
environment for everyone in the community.
“From the public health point of
view, the government should step in to help, at least to coordinate with
several hotels for quarantine purposes if (there are) no suitable government
facilities,” said Chan.
The high social cost of a community
contagion is far lower than what the government would spend for helping
employers pay for the quarantine cost for their helpers, he added.
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| The Maclehose Holiday Camp is one of two remaining quarantine facilities operated by the HK govt |
The Mission
Some of these workers, said the Mission
A majority of the workers who are taken to hotels or
alternative accommodations are not paid their salary, said the statement.
In one extreme case, the worker was forced by her employer
to sign a letter of termination after she developed a cough while under
quarantine.
These cases led the Mission
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| Many of the Mission's clients are terminated workers stranded in HK because of travel restrictions |
The Mission also called for a
coordination between the governments of Hong Kong
and the sending countries to ensure that migrant workers who are put under
quarantine are given adequate help.
In addition, the NGO said the migrant
workers should be visited regularly by their consulates during the quarantine period
to ensure that their needs are adequately met.
