Statement on International Labour Day (1 May 2008, Hong Kong)
DOMESTIC WORK IS WORK, NOT SLAVERY! RESPECT THE RIGHTS, STATUS AND DIGNITY OF DOMESTIC WORKERS!
RESTORE THE HK$3,860 MINIMUM WAGE FOR MDWs! SCRAP THE ‘2-WEEK RULE’ & ‘NEW CONDITIONS OF STAY’ POLICY! USE THE EMPLOYERS’ LEVY AS COMPENSATION FUND FOR MDWs!
1. RESTORE THE HK$3,860 MINIMUM WAGE OF MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS (MDWs)!
The HK government is expected to announce next week another round of wage adjustment for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) – reportedly bringing our minimum wage to HK$3,750. We welcome this 4th wage adjustment since 1999, and declare this as another victory for us MDWs and advocates, especially CMR and our partners who have sustained the campaign each year. As we did in previous years, CMR submitted a petition in December 2007 calling for the restoration of MDW minimum wage to HK$3,860 – our wage level in 1998.
But the expected wage adjustment in 2008 still falls short of our demand to restore MDW wages to 1998 levels. Ten years ago, the HK government forced us to sacrifice first when the economy was bad. Today, we continue to be the last to benefit from the booming economy. We are outraged that the government has been giving us token wage adjustments which, after 4 rounds and almost 10 years, have not even been able to restore the HK$590 that was taken away from us since 1999. Until all the wage cuts have been restored, CMR asserts that MDWs have not been granted a real wage increase.
The value of our wage has significantly declined these past few years. The economic crisis in the US and artificial strengthening of the Asian currencies have reduced our remittances. The sky-rocketing price of oil, rice, food, and essential goods and services have further eroded the value of our income.
When the government announced in February its biggest-ever budget surplus (HK$14.8 billion), it removed taxes on alcoholic drinks and tobacco, reduced salaries tax, and funded many public projects. But the government is unwilling to pass these benefits on to us MDWs through a respectable wage level. “For the government, smokers and alcohol drinkers are more important than working women and migrant domestic workers.” [CMR statement, 8 Mar 2008]
MDWs contribute about 1% of Hong Kong’s GDP. Yet, we are treated like beggars and commodities who are made to work on average 16 hours each day, paid very low, subjected to discriminatory treatment, and are marginalized in society. Our low-paid, marginalized and abused status is a grave injustice; it reflects HK’s disrespect of the human rights, social status and dignity of women migrants and domestic workers.
2. USE THE “RETRAINING LEVY FUND” AS “COMPENSATION FUND” FOR MDWs!
In October 1992, the Employees Retraining Ordinance was implemented which required all employers of imported labour to pay the Retraining Levy. In October 2003, this law was made applicable to employers of MDWs. This levy fund is currently used “for the training and retraining of the local workforce to enhance their employment opportunities.”
Since 2003, the HK Employers Association and their allies have been campaigning to scrap the levy. Scrapping the levy promotes the interest of the employers – not the migrants. As Selina Chow told the LegCo in July 2007, they want to scrap the levy “to ease the burden on employers”! But it is the MDWs, not the employers, who need financial support. Fact is, 80% of employers of MDWs belong to the top 20% income class of the HK population – they earn at least HK$25,000 per month; 40% of employers earn at least HK$60,000/month! Most of the employers (43%) are managers and administrators. In contrast, we MDWs are among the lowest paid workers in HK.
Scrapping the retraining levy will not mean this will be given to MDWs as wage increase. The Levy Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Law are 2 different laws. In fact, the employers are telling the HK government to limit the wage adjustment in 2008 to 1% (HK$35)! The HK government itself is very stingy in giving wage adjustments to MDWs – an average of only 1% increase per year from 1987 to 2006. Even the rumored ‘big’ adjustment in May 2008 will not even restore the wage to the 1998 level.
Of course, the Employers Association is promoting the employers’ interest – to pay very low wages to MDWs, and to scrap the levy. The Employers’ Association said that they hire MDWs “to take care of our kids”, and therefore the government should not make it (financially) difficult for them. This reminds us of the employers’ statement in 2000 (when they advocated to remove maternity protection for domestic workers) – that they ‘hire MDWs to work, not to have babies; therefore, MDWs should be made to work until the last month of pregnancy’. These statements reflect the mentality of treating MDWs almost like slaves.
Now that the levy – which is paid by employers – is in place, it should be used to enhance employers’ responsibility to their workers. Tens of thousands of MDW employers commit violations of HK’s minimum wage law and Employment Ordinance. More than 65,000 MDWs are underpaid – more than 42% of Indonesians, 61% of Nepalese and 15% of all MDWs. Around 22% do not have weekly days off; a big number (8% or almost 17,000) have less than 1 day off per month or worse. More than 23% (over 49,000) are not given the mandated statutory holidays. Around 27% are verbally/physically abused. The list goes on. Worse, even if we win our case at the tribunal, we are usually forced to accept settlements that are only a fraction of our legitimate claims. This is institutionalised violation of the contract! MDWs suffer the further injustice of having to negotiate to simply get our legally-upheld claims. We have little choice but to accept – we are made to wait for months or years, but not allowed to work; or we are forced to go home without getting our claims.
Therefore, CMR has advocated that the retraining levy be used to protect MDWs against underpayment and contract violations. This is in line with the principle of that employers pay levies (like health insurance, accident insurance, workman’s compensation) as a matter of responsibility. The levy fund, which now stands at HK$4.2 billion, should be used to immediately and fully compensate MDWs who have won their cases. We call on the HK government to designate the levy fund (or part of it) as a “compensation fund” which should be used to compensate the MDWs for claims and entitlements guaranteed under the employment contract and laws of HK.
3. SCRAP THE “NEW CONDITIONS OF STAY” (NCS) & TWO-WEEK RULE!
The HK government has a law against gender discrimination and is a signatory to the following international laws – Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
These laws require the HK government to stop discriminatory laws, policies or practices. In contrast, the HK government has strictly enforced since 1987 the “New Conditions of Stay” (NCS) policy. The NCS puts us MDWs in a discriminated position because we are women and foreigners. Under the NCS, there is a “2-week rule” that forces us to leave HK within 2 weeks of being terminated. The NCS also restricts us from changing employers, prohibits us from working in other types of (non-domestic work) jobs, and disqualifies us from gaining residency in HK, among other restrictions unfairly targeting MDWs.
Since 1989, CMR or its members have campaigned for the scrapping of the NCS and 2-week rule. Due to continued campaigning by CMR, partners and advocates, the CEDAW, CERD and ICESCR Committees of the United Nations have issued reports and recommendations (since 2003) for the HK government to review NCS and remove discriminatory policies. The international human rights authorities have spoken and affirmed our demands! But the HK government has remained deaf to our appeals in the past 15 years.
4. OTHER SPECIFIC DEMANDS: a. Adopt a minimum wage law for Hong Kong (local) workers! b. Stop underpayment of MDWs! Stop excessive agency fees! Crackdown on employers and recruiters who violate the law. HK government should enforce the 10% limit on recruitment fees; the Philippine government should effectively enforce the “zero recruitment fee” policy and punish violators (including those charging hidden or disguised fees). c. Effectively enforce the MDW employment contract, including adequate food (or HK$300 food allowance), full (24-hour) weekly rest days, statutory holidays, health insurance, respectable living space and privacy, etc. d. Stop abuses, violence and mistreatment of MDWs! e. Remove the ban on the hiring of Nepalese migrant workers in HK!
As we celebrate the 2008 International Labour Day, CMR calls on the HK government to respect the rights, status and dignity of workers, women migrants, and migrant domestic workers.
Signatories: Coalition for Migrants’ Rights (CMR) – Asian Domestic Workers Union (ADWU) • Association of Sri Lankans in Hong Kong (ASLHK) • Far East Overseas Nepalese Association (FEONA) Filipino Domestic Workers Union (FDWU) • Hong Kong Coalition of Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Organisations (KOTKIHO) • Indian Domestic Workers Association (IDWA) • Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) • Nepalese Domestic Workers Union • Thai Women’s Association (TWA)
Asian Migrant Centre (AMC) Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) Asian Migrant Domestic Workers Alliance (ADWA) Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) Alliance for Wage Increase (ALLWIN) Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) and other signatories
|
|
|
|