HONG KONG (SE): A compulsory 14-day quarantine for anyone who has travelled from any overseas country within a 14-day period from March 19 has hit newly-arrived foreign domestic workers hard. The regulation applies to anyone regardless of nationality and hence foreign domestic workers also need to comply. A migrant workers union raised concerns that the government needs to give clear guidelines about the quarantine arrangements for better protection of their rights.
Law Chi-kwong, the secretary for Labour and Welfare, said during a press conference on March 21 that it is the responsibility of employers to provide accommodation for workers during the quarantine period. If an employer refuses to offer accommodations for workers under quarantine, the worker will be repatriated.
He said that employers can rent a hotel room for the worker under quarantine, but they must get approval from the Department of Health.
Fish Ip Pui-Yu, spokesperson of the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers’ Union, said at a press conference on March 22 that the Hong Kong government failed to give clearer details on other arrangements pertaining to the quarantine period. For example, there is a dispute between employers and workers about whether workers should receive salary during the quarantine period and whether they should be provided food for free.
Ip believes that workers should be paid as they came to Hong Kong to work for their employers and the quarantine is part of their work requirements. Besides, she noted that they have paid a large sum of expenses before coming to Hong Kong. She appealed to employers to be more understanding.
Shiela Estrada, secretary of the federation, said during the press conference on March 22 that she received a complaint from a worker who was sent home as her employer could not offer accommodations for quarantine.
The group had made enquiries with the Labour Department but there was no reply. She worried that more workers would be repatriated due to the quarantine requirement.
Estrada was also concerned that the lack of guidelines from the government about salary and food arrangements would give rise to disagreements between workers and employers, leading to the poor employment relationships and even termination. She said the group will try to express its views to the government and asked for a meeting with officials.
Phobsuk Gasing, president of the federation, said that many foreign domestic workers face a high risk of infection when their employers are under home quarantine after returning from foreign countries.
Gasing noted that they have to live-in with their employers and have to care for their children or elderly family members, while some are even required to share a room or even a bed with them, she is concerned that such workers may not have adequate protection.
She pointed out that the government failed to educate employers on how to take care of foreign domestic workers and respect their rights when a member of the family is under home quarantine.
She also believes that some employers have followed double standards as they deny workers their holidays on the pretext that they tend to gather in crowded public areas despite the fact that workers are sent by employers to crowded places like markets or supermarkets to buy food and daily necessities.
Judy Lam, a part-time local domestic worker, urged the Hong Kong government to disclose the exact address of the people under home quarantine to keep domestic workers from accepting jobs in such homes.
