Domestic worker groups on Sunday warned that a lack of knowledge on rights and legal protections is leading to some helpers being abused in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) and the Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers in Hong Kong (UNDW) said that in the past two years, they received eight complaints from South Asian workers who had been severely underpaid. Sarah Pun, an executive member of FADWU and vice-chairwoman of UNDW, said many workers are only being paid HK$1,000 to HK$4,000 per month, when the minimum wage is HK$4,990. "[Some of] the workers in Hong Kong don't know any rights of what is their proper salary and what is their contract salary, so some employers take advantage," she said. "Our South Asian [domestic workers], don't have an agent in Hong Kong. The broker will tell them to come to Hong Kong because all those who want to come to Hong Kong, they also want to earn the money for themselves to support the family. "They do some agreement, I think, with some amount, but they will not tell the worker the proper amount of the contract salary. So, they will just tell them that the only important thing is the job." A Nepali woman who turned to the groups for help told reporters that she was not paid her full salary, had her passport confiscated by her employer, and suffered constant mental and physical abuse. "They did not provide me proper food. They did not provide me a room, no bed. I had to sleep on a [sofa]. They did not give me any rest days. There were no fixed working hours. I had to work 24 hours. That was what I was told," she said. "They always found fault in my work and they were always complaining. They used to scold me with foul language and assault me." Pun said the government should arrange mandatory training for both incoming helpers and employers, to increase awareness of responsibilities and fair wages. She added that the authorities should ensure that migrant domestic workers are aware of their rights and how to seek justice in the case of violations.
