The rights of foreign domestic helpers have always been regarded as a minority issue. Under the continuing atmosphere of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, labor protection is inevitably ignored at this moment. Recently, the social gathering habits of domestic helpers on weekends have been criticized by the society due to health concerns.
weekly
Writer: Contributing Writer
2020-06-09 08:30
Date of last update: 2020-06-09 08:30
The rights of foreign domestic helpers have always been regarded as a minority issue. Under the continuing atmosphere of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, labor protection is inevitably ignored at this moment. Recently, the social gathering habits of foreign domestic helpers have been criticized by the society because of health concerns. It just reflects that the government policy is not comprehensive enough and ignores the fundamental restrictions faced by foreign domestic helpers. The "home" of foreign domestic helpers is the employer’s residence. How easy is it to avoid leaving home to fight the epidemic, get stuck in the working environment around the clock, and eliminate opportunities for exploitation?
The reunion of foreign domestic helpers with their fellow villagers in Hong Kong on weekends is nothing new. It can be seen everywhere in parks, footbridges, private venues, and "worker sisters" sitting on the ground in public spaces. There are countless reunions. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong is close to 380,000, which is 5% of the total population of Hong Kong. Over the past two decades, foreign domestic helpers accounted for at least 10% of the total working population of Hong Kong, and they have provided an important supply of manpower for society.
The most recent controversy stemmed from the fact that the foreign domestic helpers occupied the North Point streets during the holiday in April. Democrat District Councillor Qiu Xuxin informed the police about the incident, and the handling method was highly controversial. Afterwards, many democratic district councillors expressed dissatisfaction, accused Qiu Xuxin of improper handling, and believed that foreign domestic helpers should be helped to explain the changing laws and related health risks, rather than resorting to the police. The incident is also unanimous on the Internet. Among them, employers of foreign domestic helpers expressed their concern that foreign domestic helpers would carry the virus back home.
The number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong is close to 380,000, accounting for 5% of the total population. It is an important part of the Hong Kong community. (Photo by Li Zetong)
"Concerns about Health" Containing Structural Conflict
In fact, as early as January and March, the Labour Department has encouraged foreign domestic helpers to stay at home during their spare time, which has immediately attracted the attention of foreign domestic helper groups. They are worried that this move in disguise encourages employers to cancel their domestic helper leave and extend working hours. In the end, the Labour Department only persuaded employers and foreign domestic workers to consider the arrangements for rest days with mutual understanding, and to provide appropriate arrangements or allowances to foreign domestic helpers for quarantine.
In fact, the controversy caused by the FDH’s after-work measures is not new. The New Democratic Party member Rong Haien had already questioned the Legislative Council about the occupation of street space by FDHs in mid-2018. "Hong Kong 01" also reported that such incidents existed as early as the 1990s. At that time, merchants had extensive disputes with foreign domestic helpers about the occupation of public space. A foreign domestic helper center plan was launched to alleviate the space constraints.
This shows that the foreign domestic helpers' rights are a structural issue in Hong Kong. To understand the rights of foreign domestic helpers and truly achieve "community", it is necessary to explore a more substantive focus point, because they are far beyond simple health concerns, but also involve the right of foreign domestic workers to enjoy public space in spare time and the rights protected at home , The two are interlocked.
To make good use of community space and embrace the status of a cosmopolitan city, it is necessary for the government to launch a blueprint for an "integration policy", such as earnest consideration to release more public space by opening pedestrian zones or renting campuses, and actively organize multicultural awareness activities Promote the uniqueness of the foreign domestic helper culture, rather than restricting the activities of foreign domestic helpers, making them a corner.
The attitude and accommodating degree of the foreign public domestic helpers have been quite low. (Profile picture)
Narrow populism promotes stigmatization
It is natural for foreign domestic helpers to reunite with their friends in the same country on holiday, find a breathing space for lunch, be able to dress up freely, and speak their native language. It is too harsh to ask foreign domestic helpers to stay in their homes or to live indoors around the clock. The attitude and accommodating degree of the foreign public domestic helpers have been quite low. Walking into Chater Road or Victoria Park, it is not difficult to find that the domestic helper activities are colorful-there are sales of goods, Xi Song, and various reunion activities.
However, in the absence of public space facilities, law enforcement agencies such as the FEHD often regard space-consuming foreign domestic helpers as unjustified hawkers or noise pollution. After all, the law enforcement model and governance thinking only focus on neat and neat streets. In other spaces or places, foreign domestic helpers are also treated differently from time to time. For example, some "middle-class" clubs have set out in the code to prohibit foreign domestic helpers from entering the clubhouse. It can be seen from this that the masses of foreign domestic helpers have a negative perception.
To urge society to change the attitude of foreign domestic helpers, we must first de-stigmatize foreign domestic helper groups and recognize that they belong to the Hong Kong community. In addition to being an employee of a local employer, the FDH is also a member of the Hong Kong society and should be given equal rights to enjoy public space. During the anti-epidemic period, foreign domestic helpers have been contributing to the local society, including collecting masks and hand sanitizers from overseas, which not only benefits employers and families, but also shows their courage to integrate and contribute to the local community. Rather than concluding that all foreign domestic helpers are "non-hygienic", "noisy", and "occupying the streets", we should abandon these narrow and exclusive ideas and propose substantial policy proposals.
It is natural for foreign domestic helpers to reunite with their friends in the same country on holiday, find a breathing space for lunch, be able to dress up freely, and speak their native language. (Profile picture / photo by Li Zetong)
Taking a step back, Hong Kong people often say they want to "self-help" and rebuild this city that is shrouded in the epidemic and political shadows. As a cosmopolitan city, we have a moral obligation to respect and defend the basic rights of foreign domestic helpers, and to justify their names so as not to fall into the routine of radical right-wing populism.
First, we should know that there have been only more than 40 complaints of foreign domestic helpers causing nuisance in public spaces in the past three years. Therefore, the harsh labeling of foreign domestic helpers is not consistent with the facts. Second, Hong Kong needs to deal with the lack of public space for foreign domestic helpers. The government In 1994, the FDH Centre Program was launched to make the school premises loaned by seven schools over the weekends a FDH activity center. Unfortunately, only one room is still in operation and can only accommodate 1,800 FDHs. It is also difficult for servants to rent other venues.
In terms of making good use of public space, we need to admit that foreign domestic helpers are far ahead of governments constrained by bureaucratic thinking. Two reports on urban studies by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and 2011 pointed out that foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong have the ability to flexibly transform public spaces, and are better at emptying public spaces than foreign domestic helpers in Singapore and Malaysia. More importantly, the foreign domestic helpers group persevere in the same public space (such as Causeway Bay, Central area) to carry out colorful activities such as chess, meals, Internet, etc. In this joy, they have intangibly established that they have The "community scope" (homebase), and then consolidate their identification with their own culture.
Although foreign domestic helpers are protected by the Employment Regulations, outside the legal framework, they generally still need to serve their employers around the clock, so most of them work too much, work too long, and lack private space. According to 2016 data from Justice Centre Hong Kong, a non-profit-making human rights organization, as many as 60% of foreign domestic helpers have been exploited, including being forced to accept long working hours, being confiscated by employers, lack of sleep, and the most severely beaten; Nearly 40% of foreign domestic helpers said that there is no separate room for work and rest. Therefore, the only free time left by foreign domestic helpers is to take a breath of fresh air on weekends. What's more, a 2017 study by the Department of Sociology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that nearly three-and-a-half days of domestic helpers still need to work, and the space for proper breathing has also been narrowed.
The international community has long expressed concerns about the treatment of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. As early as 2013, the UN Human Rights Commission had expressed concerns about the cohabitation regulations and urged the Hong Kong government to cancel the regulations. In 2014, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also regretted the cohabitation regulations. From this perspective, in order to prevent exploitation, in addition to strict enforcement of laws against harsh employers, society also needs to jointly undertake to remove the negative image of the deep-rooted foreign domestic helpers and treat them as dignified workers.
Erwiana, an Indian maid, was abused by her employer, Luo Yuntong, and the incident shocked the world. (Photo by Wu Zhongkun)
Three-pronged approach to build a "gasp" space
First, we need to increase the awareness of the public and foreign domestic helpers about their own rights. Foreign domestic helpers usually come to Hong Kong through intermediaries and contact employers to sign contracts. However, when the foreign domestic helper needs help, the intermediary agency's own interest stems from the collection of service fees, and it may not necessarily give sufficient human resources and time to deal with the dispute between the employer and the domestic helper. Most foreign domestic helpers also avoid complaints to official agencies such as the Labour Department or use mediation services due to language barriers and trust issues. Therefore, they can only seek back second and seek assistance from the consulate.
Indeed, the government did a lot of publicity and education in 2016, such as launching a website for foreign domestic helpers, and set up a mobile broadcast during the epidemic to promote anti-epidemic policies for foreign domestic helpers. However, the government's early anti-epidemic propaganda even lacked translation, reflecting that the policy was not forward-looking and did not take the initiative to communicate with the domestic helper community.
Rather than upholding the law-enforcement mentality from top to bottom, relying on intermediaries, non-profit-making organizations or social welfare organizations as communication media, it is necessary for government departments to increase the opportunities for discussions with foreign domestic helper organizations. In October last year, Chief Executive Lin Zheng Yuee proposed in the "Attachment to the Policy Address" that a dedicated foreign domestic helper branch should be established in the Labour Department. It is now in the preparatory stage-this move reflects the government's understanding of the urgency of supporting foreign domestic helpers, especially Hong Kong's intention to develop foreign domestic helpers for a long time The market for working in Hong Kong hopes that this policy will reduce the bureaucratic habit and focus on substantive communication with foreign domestic helpers, employers, and community groups.
Second, under the local legal framework, foreign domestic helpers' rights are highly controversial. The requirement for foreign domestic helpers to work and reside at the employer’s residential address is facing judicial review. During the trial in the Appeals Tribunal in March this year, the party representing the foreign domestic helper said that the government exceeded the authority and believed that the law did not expressly require the director of immigration to exercise his rights. To compulsorily monitor the scope of domestic helpers' sleep and rest activities, but also pointed out that the cohabitation policy violates the basic rights and interests protected by international conventions, such as the risk of being forced to work and the right to rest. The government side regards the special responsibility of foreign domestic helpers as caring for a family 24/7 under a cohabitation environment, and the original intention of introducing co-resident domestic helpers was to make up for the lack of local labor supply for this special demand, and the current relevant mechanisms and laws have fully guaranteed cohabitation Domestic helper.
From the legal disputes, it can be seen that the requirement of foreign domestic helpers for compulsory stay involves the review of local policies, so the initiative for improvement lies with the government and the Legislative Council. As the number of foreign domestic helpers rises, the government needs to measure privacy, rest space, economic and humanitarian factors, and consult with foreign domestic helpers to fully consider whether it can increase policy flexibility, such as reconsidering options other than the "cohabitation requirements"-all options It may help to reduce the friction between the foreign domestic helper and the employer around the clock, give the domestic helper a dignified breathing space, and at the same time reduce the foreign domestic helper’s dependence on the employer’s meals and accommodation-all help the domestic helper and the employer achieve constructiveness Consultation.
Third, we need to re-examine the situation where foreign domestic helpers and employers have unequal power. The Liberal Party submitted a submission in the Legislative Council in 2014/15, stating that employers have the opportunity to face misconceptions about intermediary companies and foreign domestic helpers “abuse” and misusing applications for changing employers. group. Last year, the Liberal Party’s Concern Group on Foreign Domestic Helpers even questioned that the length of foreign domestic helpers’ work stemmed from trivial duties such as “coupling dogs” and “playing with mobile phones”.
After the epidemic, the government and the public need to pay more attention to and reflect on the rights and interests of foreign domestic helpers and review their treatment. (Profile picture / Photograph by Liang Pengwei)
In fact, with regard to the above-mentioned problems of unscrupulous intermediaries and foreign domestic helpers, the government has repeatedly stated that inspections and prosecutions have been made. If foreign domestic helpers wish to apply for a change of employer within a two-year contract period, they will usually not be granted by the authorities except under special circ*mstances. Approved. If you are issued a new work visa, you must first return to your place of origin according to the strict requirements of the Immigration Department. Second, we need to admit that there are only a few black sheep among the 380,000 foreign domestic helpers. The reality is that most of these foreign domestic helpers have the same experience: facing language barriers, homesickness and heavy economic pressure from the family. The newly arrived foreign domestic helpers dare not offend their employers. In the face of various unreasonable job requirements, they often have to swallow their depression and can only complain when they are together with their fellow villagers on weekends. Therefore, under pressure and lack of legal awareness, a few foreign domestic helpers are vulnerable to instigation. In this case, we need to empathize to understand that they are generally in a passive or helpless situation, rather than encourage labeling.
To recover Hong Kong, we must first recover our own thoughts. Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city, and we need to carefully examine the issue of supporting the disadvantaged. Since the 1970s, foreign domestic helpers have worked hard for more than 40 years to support the well-being of middle class and families of all sizes, but the issue of rights and interests still exists. These outdoor and indoor problems are no longer controversial and new ideas. Under the influence of the epidemic, foreign domestic helpers' right to enjoy public space is gradually reduced, and even more they are forced to squeeze into their homes. After the epidemic, the government and the public need to pay more attention to and reflect on the rights and interests of foreign domestic helpers and review their treatment.
Reformed Youth on Hong Kong Version National Security Law
The above excerpt is from the 217th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly Report (June 8, 2020) "The Challenge of Decolonizing Hong Kong Security Intelligence."
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