FDH Appeals To Have “Appropriate Working Hours”

Foreign domestic helpers (FDH) urged the Hong Kong government to give them “appropriate working hours” to avoid possibilities of exploitation.

As the International Migrants Day marks it way, members of the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) rallied to the Government Head Offices in Admiralty to protest for “equal rights and equal protection for all workers.”

“Day after day, migrant domestic workers shoulder the heavy labour of caregiving and various domestic chores,” says FADWU. “These workers work for more than 12 hours a day, reside in homes of strangers and are paid significantly less than local workers of the same occupation,” FADWU added.

The group wanted the local Hong Kong government to “ensure migrant domestic workers are provided with appropriate arrangements in terms of residence, working hours and holidays before further introducing migrant domestic workers into Hong Kong in order to prevent exploitation of workers.”

FADWU also appealed to issue salaries not lower than the statutory requirement and adequate resting time as well as sufficient food and a safe working environment.

The group also wants the government to act accordingly to stop all forms of illegal practices by employment agencies including the over-charging and retaining of the identification documents of foreign domestic helpers.

Currently, there are about 380,000 migrant domestic helpers in Hong Kong.