A human rights organization research has suggested that one out of every six household service workers is a victim of forced labor and a significant percentage of whom have been trafficked.
Justice Centre Hong Kong called on stronger enforcement of laws that protect the city’s maids as its research found out that more than 80 per cent of the territory’s 336,600 domestic workers are exploited, with some working up to 20 hours a day.
One-third of Hong Kong households with children employs at least one domestic helper, majority of whom are from the Philippines and Indonesia.
“Hong Kong must come clean; the government can no longer afford to simply sweep these problems under the carpet,” the centre said in a report.
Maid abuse in the city has earned a spot in international headlines last year when a Hong Kong woman was sentenced to six years in jail for repeatedly abusing her maids. In 2013, another Hong Kong couple was jailed for torturing their maid, who said they once dressed her in a nappy and tied her to a chair while they went on holiday.
The study, which surveyed more than 1,000 domestic workers from eight countries, found helpers in Hong Kong work an average of over 70 hours a week, yet only a fraction of them reported receiving above the minimum monthly wage, now mandated at HK$4,210 (P25,397).
Questions in the research also covered recruitment, wages, work conditions and employer treatment.
Results paint a dire picture of the helpers situation. For instance, a third of all domestic helpers surveyed were not given a full day off as required by law, over half reported receiving less than the minimum food allowance and nearly a third did not feel free to quit their jobs.
The center called on tougher action on unscrupulous employment agencies that overcharge helpers, often leaving them buried in debt. Also, the center recommends to scrap the rule that requires all migrant workers to leave Hong Kong within two weeks after their contract ended.