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Lankan domestic need not clean high-tower windows in HK
Sri Lankan domestic helpers in Hong Kong and those arriving in the city to begin working in households will be spared the death-defying window-cleaning task in the skyscraper flats of their employers.
A few foreign helpers have plunged to their deaths trying to clean windows in tower blocks that millions of Hong Kong people call home.
The most recent tragedy was that of a Filipina who fell and died in August. This year, four women have perished.
Hong Kong’s labour officials were forced to take the decision to prohibit employers from demanding that their home helpers clean the windows in tower blocks, following pressure largely from the Philippines and not Foreign Employment Bureau officials of Sri Lanka. Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Athukorala has not made any representations to Hong Kong either, domestic helper organisations say.
Unlike Sri Lankan labour officials who pay scant attention to migrant workers who earn billions of US dollars for the nation, the Philippines pressed the issue by demanding a ban on window-cleaning. Manila even sent its Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello to Hong Kong.
More than 186,000 Filipino domestic helpers work in Hong Kong, while there are 1,145 Sri Lankan helpers, mostly women.
Under the new requirements, which will soon take effect, foreign domestic helpers may be asked to clean the exterior of windows in towers only if windows are protected by safety grilles. The helper should also be under the watch of the employer.
The new rules will be added to the domestic helper contracts by the Immigration Department. Hong Kong Labour Secretary, Matthew Cheung, said ccupational safety could not be compromised, adding that employer interests had also to be considered.
For more than 30 years, Sri Lankans have not been represented in Hong Kong by an accredited diplomat. At present, an ageing Chinese businessman involved in shipping, acts in an honorary capacity. His appointment by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government was not known to most of the Sri Lankans here.
From the end of September, a foreign domestic helper is entitled to a minimum monthly salary of HK$ 4,310 (Rs. 82,421). Under the contract, employers must provide food free of charge, but employers may also choose to give a monthly food allowance of HK$ 1,037 (Rs. 19,843) in lieu. These mandatory amounts are applicable to contracts signed after October 1.