An Example of Slave Labour

Mia waits for her claim to be settled at the labour tribunal

No, this is not about someone carrying bricks all day for a pittance, it's about how more than one or two moderately wealthy businessmen in our city can force a woman to work 18 hours a day, and then have her thrown out on the street. This is something every loyal Hong Kong resident should be ashamed to see happening in our civilised society.

As International Labour Day comes up on May 1st, pray that employers the world over would realise that domestic help is not slave labour.

Mia worked for 18 hours on her first day of work as a domestic helper. But she needed to support her family back home, so she continued to work 18 hour days for the next four years. She cleaned, cooked, washed and ironed, shopped, and took care of a young boy and a baby girl, carrying the baby on her back.

One year into her contract, three members of the employer’s extended family joined the household. In addition to caring for 9 people, her employer began housing expectant mothers from mainland China who were waiting to give birth illegally in Hong Kong. Every time a new baby was born, Mia travelled to the hospital to provide the needs of new mother and baby. Each new guest meant that Mia had to sleep in her employer’s bedroom.

Her employers regularly entertained, often waking Mia in the early hours of the morning to cook for their guests. If she fell asleep before the party ended, she was woken to clean up after the guests.

When her employer’s elderly mother became paralysed, Mia changed her diapers, fed, cooked and bathed her.  "I cared for her as if she were my own grandmother," she said.  Mia was utterly exhausted and desperately wanted to quit her job, but the old lady begged her to stay.

Partial relief came when the extended family moved out. A week later, the kind old lady died. Though there was less work, Mia was devastated. Then the baby girl was hospitalised and a month later she died. Mia’s grief was overwhelming. Finally, she told her employer that lack of sleep was affecting her work.  An hour later she was woken by two police officers and ordered to leave her employer’s flat. She persuaded her employer to allow her to take a change of clothes and her cellphone. Then she was out on the street.

At the employment agency the next day, Mia read about Christian Action’s services in an Indonesian newspaper.  We found that for the duration of her contract, she had been underpaid and denied her weekly rest day, and statutory holidays. We helped Mia file a comprehensive claim at the Labour Tribunal to the value of around HK$77,000, which she has earned.

Pray that Mia's case will be settled in full so that justice will be seen to be done in Hong Kong.