Domestic limbo

Pulling together
Cheung said although middle-class families or those with higher incomes might not care about paying more to keep their domestic workers, it would be a big financial burden for lower-income households, particularly during the pandemic, which has dented the local economy. "It's hard for the government, while helping one party, to please the other at the same time," he said.

Cheung explained that Hong Kong companies also demand dedication and commitment from staff. It would be difficult for their employees, most of the time, female employees, to take up household chores while going to work, creating a problem for families without domestic workers.

The local wages of FDWs are much lower than those of other workers and are affordable for many families. On the other hand, the cost of sending a child to a specialized nursery or hiring a local domestic worker is much higher than employing an FDW who has to put in extremely long hours, said Cheung.

HelperPlace's survey also revealed a shocking negative relationship between an FDW's workload and salary - the longer the working hours and the higher the number of children in an employer's family, the lower the salary. Many families may not be that well off financially, with limited living space, and are more careful about spending money. They would like their helpers to do more household chores, said Cheung.

"Low-income families face more difficulties in hiring domestic workers, especially during a protracted pandemic. The government and the community should provide these families with various options, such as lower costs for childcare services, to ease the pressure of hiring a domestic worker," he said.

Hong Kong has been battered by the worst wave of COVID-19 infections since early this year, threatening the health and safety of the population and dealing a serious blow to the city's declining workforce.

HELP for Domestic Workers - a non-governmental organization looking after the interests of FDWs in Hong Kong - said there have been cases of domestic workers having their contracts terminated or of being between jobs and unable to fly back to their homeland after testing positive for COVID-19. This has left them with huge medical bills, and facing an uncertain future due to flight bans and lack of money and supplies to care for themselves, said Avril Rodrigues, head of communications at HDW.

Rodrigues said their organization has been working closely with government departments, such as the Centre for Health Protection, but the authorities said local hospitals and quarantine facilities have been overwhelmed as the number of COVID-19 infections continues to soar.

She called on employers and domestic workers to ride out the storm together.
A domestic worker coalition of more than 14 non-governmental organizations is working together to back up the FDWs in the hardship. "It is likely to see more FDWs being tested positive, with the government's compulsory universal testing scheme due to start in March," Rodrigues said. "The shortage in the supply of domestic workers is likely to last longer."