HK maids worse off, says study

MANILA, Philippines—Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are in a worse situation 10 years after their mandatory live-in employment arrangement was enforced, according to a migrant rights group Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW).

The group said the live-in employment arrangement has caused the rights of domestic workers to be violated and that the living and working condition are far from what should be accorded to them.

The MFMW, along with the women’s group HerFund, has conducted a study on the impact of the mandatory live-in requirement to domestics because of the significant number of female clients who were victims of abuse by employers.

The victims claimed they were provided with unsuitable sleeping spaces and made to work for long hours.

The mandatory live-in requirement was apparently implemented in April 2003 to address the problem regarding domestics moonlighting or engaging in illegal work.