By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Villanueva (5th from left) was the lone migrant representative in the meeting with CE Leung (beside him, in suit) |
For the first time, the Hong Kong government has committed
to look at Canada
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung reportedly made this pledge during a meeting at the Central Government Offices in Tamar on May 2 with
civil society leaders to discuss various labor concerns, and the need for
anti-human trafficking legislation.
Eman Villanueva, who represented the Asian Migrants’
Coordinating Body, said Cheung told the group the government is already doing a
pilot test on contractual working hours in five industries.
After this, the scheme will be reviewed to see if it could
be applied in other industries as well as to domestic workers, with the
Canadian system as a guide.
“This is already a good start even if Chief Secretary Cheung
did not promise anything concrete,” said Villanueva, who was the lone migrant
worker at the meeting attended by lawyers, ethnic minority rights advocates,
trade unions and pan democratic leaders.
Under Canada
In contrast, Hong Kong has not legislated
working hours for its workforce, although 44 hours a week is the norm for
government employees.
For foreign domestic workers, however, the standard
employment contract (SEC) does not provide how long they must work each day. As
a result, live-in FDWs work for as long as their employers require them to.
Studies invariably show most work no less than 11 hours a day, with a big
number working longer than 16 hours.
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| Lack of regulation means migrant workers spend no less than 11 hours at work each day |
AMCB, like many migrant support groups, is urging the
government to amend the SEC to include a clause for an uninterrupted rest of 11
hours for FDWs, plus meal breaks.
They also want the SEC to stipulate “decent accommodation”
for FDWs, and exclude the following as unsuitable and unsafe sleeping places:
toilet, kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, living room, corridor, cupboard,
veranda, staircase, fire exit, rooftop and others.
Migrant support organizations are also pushing for Hong Kong
to sign and ratify, even without China
They are also calling on the Hong Kong
government to stop the collection of illegal fees from migrant workers, and end
its two-week rule and mandatory live-in policies. The two-week rule mandates
that all FDWs whose contracts are terminated must leave Hong
Kong within 14 days, while the live-in policy requires them to
live in their employers’ house.
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