Hong Kong unions say some domestic workers being underpaid and abused

At least eight South Asian domestic helpers working in Hong Kong have been significantly underpaid over the past two years, with the most severe case receiving no money and no rest days for four months, two labour unions have said.

The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) and the Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers in Hong Kong (UNDW) also warned on Sunday the situation was severely under-reported and likely to be far worse, saying many employees did not dare speak up over fears of reprisal from their bosses, complexities with Hong Kong’s legal processes, language barriers or general lack of awareness.

The organisations said the migrant workers involved were all from South Asia, adding their employers rarely faced any legal consequences despite breaching Hong Kong’s Employment Ordinance.

“Many of the employers are from the same countries as [their employees], so they can communicate fine between themselves,” FADWU chairwoman Phobsuk Gasing said.

“But the workers struggle to communicate with anyone else because they don’t speak English or Cantonese, so their employers can easily mistreat them [without consequence].”

The two groups said the most severe cases reported to them involved a helper who had received no salary or rest days for four months.