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Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

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by IDWFED published Dec 18, 2016 08:00 PM
Sisters from the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) bring their call to Hong Kong Government on to put an end to agency exploitation and recognise migrant workers' rights. They also show their support to the Nepali sisters in Lebanon and urged the government to free Rosie!
  • Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016
  • 2016-12-18T00:00:00+00:00
  • 2016-12-18T23:59:59+00:00
  • Sisters from the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU) bring their call to Hong Kong Government on to put an end to agency exploitation and recognise migrant workers' rights. They also show their support to the Nepali sisters in Lebanon and urged the government to free Rosie!
When
Dec 18, 2016 (Universal / UTC0)
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Hong Kong
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HONG KONG -

This year, FADWU brought illegal employment agencies to the court;  published research to expose the illegal acts of employment agencies and the bad working situations of Migrant domestic workers.

More and more workers joining FADWU on the road to fight for justice, more and more people, including employers of migrant domestic workers are concerning issues of domestic workers.

On the International Migrants Day, FADWU bring their call to Hong Kong Government to put an end to agency exploitation and recognise migrant workers' rights. They also showed their support to the Nepali sisters in Lebanon and urged the government to free Rosie immediately!

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 20162016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016
2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016 2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

Put an end to agency exploitation
Recognise migrant workers' rights

Statement of the International Migrants Day 2016
FADWU

Set on the 18th day of December, the International Migrants Day commemorates the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (also known as the International Migration Convention) by the United Nations, on the same day 26 years ago. The Convention establishes the rights of migrant workers, while stipulating state parties’ obligations to protect them. The Union is organising a protest march on this very occasion, demanding the Hong Kong government to fulfill its obligations of protecting migrant domestic workers, through securing their rights and ending migrants exploitation by employment agencies.

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

Agency supervision - all talk and no action

The Hong Kong government has, for multiple times in the last two years, pledged to strengthen their supervisory measures against employment agencies’ illegal actions. Yet, it appeared that measures were merely all talk. While the government has launched the consultation on the Draft Code of Practice for Employment Agencies in April 2016, and has claimed that the CoP will be completed and fresh measures taken by year-end, it must be emphasised that the CoP is in fact a “paper tiger” - utterly ineffective at imposing criminal liability on agencies which have breached it. Nonetheless, the promulgation of the CoP has been put off time and again, reflecting the Labour and Welfare Bureau’s lack of commitment to initiate stringent supervision of agencies’ illegal behaviors.

This year, the Union has published the investigative report Between a Rock and a Hard Place, aiming to reveal to the public the atrocities of the migrant domestic workers’ employment agencies. The investigation has uncovered that, on average, Filipino migrant domestic workers have been charged agency fees over HKD 10,000, exceeding 25 times the amount as permitted by law. The Union has also taken offending agencies to the court twice, hoping to bring them to justice. Despite their foul deeds, the government has kept turning a blind eye to agencies, and refrained from launching necessary supervisory measures such as legislative amendments. Indeed, the promised Code of Practice, hanging in draft for almost two years, is nowhere to be found.

The Union must reiterate that the culprits encouraging illegal agency behaviours are the lack of government supervision and lenient punishments against them. As set by the Employment Agency Regulations, the current penalty for overcharging agency fees is a mere maximum fine of HKD 50,000, without any imprisonment provisions. Although the Union has brought two offending agencies to the court, the resulting penalties were only HKD 9,000 to 30,000, clearly disproportionate to the severity of the “bonded labour” inducing criminal acts. Under current Hong Kong law, the maximum penalty for non-payment of wages are a fine of HKD 350,000 and three years of imprisonment. Agencies overcharging migrant domestic workers is indeed no different from long-term non-payment of wages, and thus should be punished likewise.

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

Immigration policies - catalyst for exploitation

The International Migrant Convention also calls for equal treatment of migrant workers in all countries, guaranteeing the same treatment and protection of rights as local workers. Despite this, the Hong Kong government has deceitfully left home-staying migrant domestic workers unprotected under the minimum wage legislation framework, and have exploited migrant domestic workers through a variety of one-sided immigration policies, such as the “forced homestay system” and the “two-week rule”. Unlike other working visa holders, migrant domestic workers are subjected to various discriminatory policies, heavily restricting their labour rights. This year, the Union has also found out that almost 45% of Nepalese migrant domestic workers are victims of underpayment of wages. The discriminatory immigration policies have only obstructed their ways to make complaints against such wrongdoings.

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

Occupational safety measures - more must be done

The controversies regarding window-cleaning this year have aroused wide public concerns on domestic workers’ occupational safety issues. While the Labour Department has finally acknowledged the gravity of the safety issues by revising the Standard Employment Contract, the Union reiterates that it is paramount for the government to offer compulsory training on labour rights and occupational safety to newly arrived migrant domestic workers. Only through comprehensive training could their rights be thoroughly protected.

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

We demand:

  1. The Hong Kong government to assume responsibility of protecting migrant domestic workers, and convey to the Chinese government the community consensus of signing the International Labour Convention Civil Claim Article 189: Convention on Domestic Workers;
  2. The government to enact and amend laws and regulations as necessary, in order to reinforce supervision of migrant domestic workers employment agencies, strengthen investigative and prosecutive measures, as well as bringing the penalty of overcharging agency fees into line with current penalty of non-payment of wages;
  3. The government to offer compulsory training on labour rights and occupational safety to both employers and newly arrived migrant domestic workers, in order to safeguard the latter’s rights;
  4. The government to repeal all unreasonable and discriminatory immigration policies, such as the “mandatory live-in policy” and the “two-week rule”;
  5. The government to repeal all discriminatory elements against migrant workers in current labour policies. Domestic workers must be protected under the minimum wage ordinance. For any upcoming standard working hours legislations, migrant workers’ situations must be considered as well;
  6. The Labour and Welfare Bureau, as well as the Labour Department, to accept invitations to meet with the Union, in order to deliberate further supervisory measures against employment agencies.

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

終止中介剝削 正視移工權利

國際移工日遊行2016聲明
香港亞洲家務工工會聯會

12月18日是「國際移民日」,紀念聯合國於1990年12月18日通過的《保障所有移徙工人及其家庭成員公約》(簡稱國際移民公約)。公約訂定了各國政府對移民工的保障,和移民工的權利。今天,本會舉辦遊行,要求香港政府正視其保障外籍家務工的責任,正視移工權利、終止中介剝削。

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

監管中介 只聞樓梯響

近兩年來,香港政府多次承諾加強中介公司的監管,但是措施卻只聞樓梯響。今年年中,政府推出《職業介紹所實務守則草擬本》諮詢,聲稱今年年尾會完成《守則》,並推出措施。《實務守則》本身已是「無牙老虎」,不會為違反守則的中介公司帶來額外的刑責。然而,《守則》的推出仍然一拖再拖,顯示勞福局根本無誠意推動加強對不法中介的監管。

這一年來,本會發表了調查報告《左右為難 進退兩難》,向公眾揭露了外傭中介公司的惡行。調查顯示,菲籍家務工平均被中介公司收取的費用達超過一萬元,超出香港法例許可達二十五倍。本會亦兩度將不法中介帶上法庭,將其繩之於法。中介公司的惡行昭彰,然而政府視若無睹,監管的措施一拖再拖,不但未有修訂法例改善監督,連撰寫了近兩年的《實務守則》,都尚未出台。

本會重申,中介公司有法不依,是因為監管不力、而罰則太輕。現行〈職業介紹所條例〉就超收中介費的刑罰過輕,最高罰款不過是50,000元,而無須監禁。今年本會雖將兩間非法中介帶上法庭,其刑罰卻只是九千至三萬元,顯然無法反映造成外籍家務工「抵債勞動」罪行的嚴重性。現時,欠薪者的最高刑罰是罰款35萬及監禁三年,中介公司對外籍家務工超收中介費的情形,與長期欠薪相近,應予等同刑罰。

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

入境措施 加深剝削

國際移民公約中亦要求各國平等對待移民工,使移民工與本地工人的工作待遇受到相同保障。可是香港政府巧立明目,將留宿家務工排除在最低工資法例以外,又以各種入境政策,限制外籍家務工,如「強制同住政策」、「兩星期遣反規定」,不同於其他取得工作簽證來港工作的外地人,移民家務工受到不同的歧視政策所規限,令她們的勞動權利受到限制。本會今年調查亦顯示,近45%的尼泊爾家務工遭受短付工資。受制於入境政策的規定,往往令她們更難申訴。

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

職安措施 不應止步

今年的「抹窗爭議」,亦令家務工的職業安全問題提升到公眾層面。勞工處終決定修訂《標準僱傭合約》以保障家務工抹窗的安全。然而,本會重申,政府應為新到埗的外籍家務工及僱主提供強制性的權益及職安課程,以確保其權利。

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

我們要求:

  1. 香港政府承擔起保障外籍家務工的責任,向中國政府轉達民間要求簽訂國際勞工公約第189條【國際家務工公約】;
  2. 立法加強監管外籍家務工中介公司,加強調查及檢控違規中介公司、將超收中介費的罰則與欠薪罪劃一;
  3. 為新到埗的外籍家務工及僱主提供強制性的權益及職安課程,以確保其權利;
  4. 取消無理入境政策,包括「強制留宿制度」、「兩星期遣返規定」;
  5. 停止歧視移民工的勞工政策,將家務工納入最低工資保障範圍,在未來標準工時立法亦要保障所有家務工;
  6. 本會邀請勞福局、勞工處與本會會面,共議對中介公司監管的進一步措施。

2016-12-18 Hong Kong: FADWU sisters rally on the International Migrants Day 2016

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