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Research

​FADWU designs and implements research projects, publishing the findings to organize workers and advocate for better policies to promote decent working conditions. ​Research projects are led by union members who are domestic workers themselves. FADWU’s has also produced documentary films accompanying the reports.

Fit for Purpose?Accessing compliance with the Code of Practice

(2022)

Fit for Purpose? Assessing compliance with the Code of Practice is a research report assessing the implementation of the Hong Kong SAR government's Code of Practice for Employment Agencies. Five years after it came into force the report highlights how agencies are still failing to comply with the code and makes recommendations to the government and recruitment industry on how better to project the human and labour rights of migrant domestic workers.

The report is based on qualitative interviews with 105 Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers between April and June 2021. It was produced by the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) in collaboration with the Union of United Domestic Workers (UUDW) as a follow-up to the 2018 report Agents of Change? that provided a similar assessment of the CoP.

The research found that penalties set by the government were too weak and 100% of agencies continued to violate the CoP.

Furthermore, in the course of conducting the study, it was discovered that migrant domestic workers were targeted by discriminatory public health policies set forth by the government in response to COVID-19 outbreaks, in addition to more pronounced hostility in the local community and higher levels of illegal or improper treatment by employers.

Report

English and Chinese

Press Conference

[Press Release]
[Live Steam]

The Price of JusticeMigrant domestic workers experience of trying to resolve labour disputes in Hong Kong

(2019)

The Price of Justice exposes how migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong face a range of administrative and financial obstacles when filing a claim against their employer at the conciliation service, Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB) or Labour Tribunal. The most common claims were in relations to their wages, food and travelling allowance, and flight ticket home.

FADWU’s interviews with 25 migrant domestic workers reveal that during the conciliation service, their employers offered on average a mere 51% of the amount claimed by the workers. Similarly, seventeen interviewees who took their case on to the Labour Tribunal averaged claims of HK$34,300, but the average amount awarded was only HK$13,822 or 40% of their claim.

“The justice system in Hong Kong is failing to deliver for migrant domestic workers who are disadvantaged due to the power imbalance with their employers in the negotiating process. Migrant domestic workers are also unfamiliar with Hong Kong laws, may not speak Cantonese or English, and lack information about the procedures and support in pursuing their claim,” said Phobusk Gasing, Chairperson of FADWU.

The research also shows that migrant domestic workers pursuing a claim are often left without a job and a place to stay. The average time 12 interviewees had to wait between filing their case and having it settled at the MECAB/Labour Tribunal was 58 days. These time and cost pressures explain why many settled their cases despite being dissatisfied with the amount offered.

Report

English and Chinese

Leaflet

English and Chinese

Press Conference

[Press Release]

The Price of Justice - Trailer

The Price of Justice examines the challenges migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong face when bringing cases against their employers. The film follows four Filipino women and their families as they try to seek justice for wrongful termination and breaches of their contracts.

Agents of ChangeAccessing Hong Kong employment agencies’ compliance with the Code of Practice

(2018)

Agents of Change is a research project based on a quantitative survey conducted by Filipino and Indonesian migrant domestic workers on the implementation of the Hong Kong SAR government's new Code of Practice for Employment Agencies. It highlights how agencies are failing to comply with the voluntary code and makes recommendations to the government and recruitment industry on how better to protect the human and labour rights of migrant domestic workers. The project ran from March 2017 to June 2018.

The study found that a majority of migrant domestic workers continued to experience violations of their labour rights as employment agencies compel them to take out loans to pay excessive and illegal placement fees, while 96% of employment agencies were not in compliance with the CoP, without facing any meaningful legal consequences.
English Chinese

Press Conference

[Press Release]

Agents of Change - Explainer Video

Agents of Change explainer video presents the results of a quantitative survey conducted by Filipino and Indonesian migrant domestic workers on the implementation of the Hong Kong SAR government's new Code of Practice for Employment Agencies. It includes undercover filming that took place in agencies, providing evidence of illegal business practices.

Between a rock and a hard place

(2016)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is a research and advocacy project investigating the illegal fees charged to Filipino migrant domestic workers by employment agencies in both the Philippines and Hong Kong. It documentes human and labour rights abuses, including trafficking and forced labour. The project ran from March 2016 to February 2017.

The study found that the majority of workers report being charged 25 times the legally permitted maximum fee on average. It was also found that abusive labour practices and violation of statutory rights were common, and government authorities in both Hong Kong and the Philippines had not taken adequate measures.
English Chinese

Press Conference

[Press Release]
[Case Study]

Brochure

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Official Trailer

'Between a Rock and a Hard Place' documents the illegal activities of employment agencies in Hong Kong, and the failure of the government to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers. It includes undercover recordings made inside agencies, testimonies of abuse, and expert analysis.

The film was made for the Progressive Labor Union of Domestic Workers - Hong Kong (PLUDW-HK) and Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Union (FADWU) as part of a wider project investigating illegal recruitment fees.