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HK-bound domestic workers now entitled to minimum monthly salary of Rs. 76,300
Hong Kong (HK)-bound domestic helpers from Sri Lanka will be assured of a monthly salary of HK$ 4,210 (LKR 76,367) from this month.
This is the salary they are entitled to, according to HK’s labour laws, although it is well known that dodgy job agencies in Colombo and Sri Lankan recruiters in HK deceive women into accepting much lower wages.
There is no legal protection from the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) against abuse of the wages guaranteed by HK law.
In fact, the Bureau has a conflict of interest with agents.
In a report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in April this year, the Special Rapporteur on HR of migrants, François Crépeau told the UN that, “recruitment agents are overly represented on the Bureau’s Board of Management, with no migrant worker representation.”
Besides, Sri Lanka has not ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, or the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
Agencies also gouge fees exceeding LKR 300,000 per contract, and are known to place helpers in low-paying jobs, mainly with Indian or even Chinese households. Some Indians in HK are notorious for underpayment of wages to helpers.
HK’s laws allow a job agent to charge a mere 10% of the minimum wage as fees. Job agents in Sri Lanka rarely advise potential domestic helpers of this condition.
The new monthly salary announced on Wednesday last week, represents a mere 2.4% increase from the previous minimum wage of HK$ 4,110.
Helper organisations immediately condemned this minor adjustment as inadequate, saying it should be revised to HK$ 4,500 at the least.
The HK government also announced last week, that the pay of judges and judicial officers for 2015-16 will be increased by 4.41%, while in June, lower and middle tier civil servants were granted a salary hike of 4.62%.
Sri Lankan helpers constitute a small portion among more than 330,000 foreign domestic helpers in the city.
HK government records show that 488 Sri Lankans were granted domestic helper visas in 2014, a minority among 95,000-plus foreign helpers given visas that year.
In HK, all domestic helper contracts, including those of drivers, are processed by the Immigration Dept. A contract is for two years and the application process can take six weeks or more.
A helper is required to work six days a week. One rest day is allowed. Usually it is a Sunday. But, there are no regulations on work hours and helpers can end up working punishing hours.
According to the HK Employment Ordinance, “every employee who has been employed by the same employer under a continuous contract, shall be granted not less than one rest day in every period of seven days”.
At least a dozen forms and documents are needed for a helper job-seeker to submit an application.
These include employer’s income proof, the visa application, the contract, copy of passport, copy of the employer’s identity card, proof of the employer’s residential address, and testimonials.
ID cards issued to helpers in HK carry a ‘W’ prefix.
After serving a two-year contract in HK, the helper must return home within two weeks, even if the contract is renewed with the same employer, or if the helper decides to sign up with a new employer.
They are allowed to sign up with a new employer and apply to work for another employer a month before the existing contract ends, according to immigration laws.
The helper must also submit a letter from the existing employer to say that the helper is ending the contract and has given due notice.
A helper seeking work in HK must have at least two years experience.
Labour Dept data show that, at the end of April, there were more than 335,500 foreign domestic helpers in HK. Most are from the Philippines (175,859, or 52%) and Indonesia (151,482, or 45%).
The remainder are from Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar.Helpers make up 9% of HK’s workforce.