See below for Chinese and photos
(中文稿及相片見下面)

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Hong Kong, December 15, 2024 - In the past two years, FADWU has received 8 cases of South Asian migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who were severely underpaid by their employers. Their employers, mostly Indians and Nepalese, have violated the Employment Ordinance and the employment contract. However, they rarely face any consequences for their illegal conduct.

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1. Underpayment

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All of the South Asian cases the union received were underpaid by their employers. Their actual received wages ranged from $1,000 to $4,000 per month (20%-80% of the government’s stipulated minimum allowable wage, currently the minimum allowable wage is $4,990). In one extreme case, the employer did not pay the worker at all and did not give any rest day for 4 months. The worker was also physically assaulted and finally ran away.

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“It is common that first-timer South Asian domestic workers are underpaid. The employers think they bring the workers to Hong Kong, they can pay less.” said Chuni Thapa, a Nepali domestic worker union leader and the treasurer for FADWU. “Workers don’t know the minimum wage protection in Hong Kong, they just follow what the employers say.”

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In 2016, the Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers in Hong Kong (UNDW), one of FADWU affiliates, found in a survey that almost half of Nepali speaking domestic workers were paid under the stipulated minimum allowable wage. They mostly work for Indian and Nepali families who speak the same language and share the same cuisine.

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MDWs who come to Hong Kong for the first time are the most vulnerable to exploitation because they don’t know about their legal rights and where to seek help. In one of the cases FADWU handled with UNDW, the employer told the worker that the minimum wage for Indians was different from other nationalities and they were already paying according to the law. In another case, the employer withheld the worker’s bank account, he deposited the full salary to the “worker’s bank account”, withdrew the money, then paid the worker with a deducted wage in cash. Some employers forged documents or forced workers to sign on payment slips to prevent workers from having evidence to file labour claims. Some employers also threatened the workers that they have no right to terminate their contract, or they will be detained.  

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2.  No Rest Day and Statutory Holidays​

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None of the domestic workers who seek help from us get a full rest day. Some employers give them only 1-2 days of rest each month, and each time only 2-5 hours. They are unaware of the statutory holiday and have never taken one.

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“Employers don’t want the workers to find out about their rights.” Chuni added. One employer forbad the worker to talk to others on rest days, and checked worker’s cell phone every day. After the worker filed a claim against the employer, the employer threatened the friends of the worker from providing evidence or witness statements.

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“The employers we deal with are not first time mistreating domestic workers. They know the law but still break it, because there are no consequences. That’s why they become bolder every time.” said Sarah Pun, Vice chairperson of UNDW.

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Despite the union’s effort to report the cases to the Labour Department, and the workers willingness to be a prosecution witness, none of the employers get prosecuted for the obvious violation of the Employment Ordinance.

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FADWU has handled underpayment cases of other nationalities, but we noticed that every South Asian domestic worker we handled has been underpaid. It is urgent for the government to pay attention to these groups.

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FADWU demands the government to:

1. Ensure all migrant domestic workers know their rights and how to seek justice in case of legal violations;

2. Mandatory post-arrival trainings to newly arrived domestic workers;

3. Mandatory training to employers about their legal responsibilities before they can hire;

4. Raising public awareness of employers’ legal responsibilities in different languages;

5. Effectively prosecute and punish the employers who violate the Employment Ordinance and other laws.

 

Media Contact:

 

English: Sarah Pun (9391 0615)

FADWU Exco, UNDW Vice-chairperson

 

Cantonese: Chuni Thapa (5686 7099)

FADWU Treasurer, UNDW Chairperson

 

An An (68512879)

Organizing Secretary for FADWU

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Press Release – Underpay South Asian Domestic Workers as a “Common Practice”

Government Turns a Blind Eye to Employers’ Violations

新聞稿 – 短付南亞裔外傭工資成慣例  政府漠視僱主犯法

 

過去兩年香港亞洲家務工工會聯會（FADWU） 收到 8 宗南亞裔外籍家務工被僱主嚴重剋扣工資的個案。她們大多數為印度和尼泊爾裔的僱主工作，僱主違反《僱傭條例》和僱傭合約，非法扣薪，但幾乎全不受到法律檢控及懲罰。

 

1.      短付人工

 

工會接獲的南亞裔個案全部被僱主短付工資。她們實際收到的工資從每月 1,000 元到 4,000 元不等（只有政府規定的最低許可工資的20%到80% 不等，現時最低許可工資為4,990元）。其中一個個案尤其嚴重，這位尼泊爾裔的外傭在受僱的四個月期間，從未獲發工資，亦沒有放假，更被僱主虐打，該外傭最後逃走離開，向工會求助。

 

「第一次來港的南亞裔外籍家務工，經常被短付工資。」尼泊爾家務工工會UNDW主席兼 FADWU 司庫 Chuni Thapa 表示。「工人不知道香港的最低工資保障，老闆說什麼就是什麼。」

 

2016 年，香港尼泊爾家務工工會（Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers in Hong Kong，簡稱 UNDW，FADWU 的屬會之一）在一項調查中發現，近一半說尼泊爾語的家務工所得的人工全部低於政府規定的最低許可工資。他們多數為印度裔和尼泊爾裔的家庭工作，他們跟僱主家庭說相同的語言，吃相同的食物。

 

第一次來港的家務工最容易受到剝削，因為她們不知道自己的法律權利，也不知道到哪裡求助。在 FADWU 和 UNDW 共同處理的一宗個案中，僱主告訴工人，印度人的最低工資與其他國籍的家務工是不同的，而訛稱已依法支付最低工資。在另一個案例中，僱主扣留工人的銀行帳戶，他把工資全數存入這「工人的銀行帳戶」，然後又把錢取出來，再扣除部分人工之後，才以現金支付給工人。有些僱主偽造文書，又有強迫工人在工資簽收紙上簽名，以防留有證據讓工人日後作勞工索賠。有些僱主還威脅工人說，他們無權終止合約，否則會被警察拘捕和坐監。

 

2.  沒有休息日和法定假期

 

向工會求助的南亞裔家務工之中，全部未有獲得完整的休息日。有些僱主每個月只給他們 1-2 天休息日，而且每次只有 2-5 小時。工人不知道香港有法定假日，也從未放過法定假日。

 

「僱主不希望工人知道他們的權利。」Chuni 補充說。一位僱主禁止工人在休息日與他人交談，並每天強行檢查工人的手機。在工人向勞工處提出投訴以後，僱主恐嚇工人的朋友，不准提供證物或出庭作證。

 

「我們接觸的僱主都不是第一次苛待家務工。僱主知道法律，但仍會犯法，因為他們不用承擔後果，更是越來越夠膽犯法。」UNDW 副主席 Sarah Pun 表示。

 

儘管工會盡力協助工人向勞工處舉報這些案件，而且工人也願意為勞工處擔任控方證人，協助勞工處執法檢控違法僱主，但最後卻完全沒有違法僱主受到懲罰。

 

FADWU 亦有處理其他國籍的家務工被剋扣工資的個案，但我們注意到所有南亞裔家務工案件都被剋扣工資，情況相對嚴重。政府實應急需關注。

 

FADWU 要求政府：

1) 確保所有外籍家務工瞭解她們的權利，以及如何在權利遭剝削時尋求公義；

2) 強制新來港的家務工接受抵港後的培訓；

3) 對僱主進行強制性培訓，讓他們了解自己的法律責任，然後才可以僱用；

4) 以不同語言提高公眾對僱主法律責任的意識；

5) 有效地檢控及懲罰違反《僱傭條例》及其他法例的僱主。

 

媒體聯絡：

 

英文：Sarah Pun (9391 0615)

FADWU理事，UNDW副主席

 

廣東話：Chuni Thapa (5686 7099)

FADWU司庫，UNDW主席

 

An An (68512879)

組織幹事

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​​Photo and Videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-I1Q965xGxmXkF2DK3oGqLUXgdTKAKKH?usp=sharing

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