Cambodia sends maids to HK to plug gap after abuse scandals


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Indonesian former maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih leaves the court of justice in Hong Kong on Feb 10, 2015 after her employer was convicted of beating and starving the Indonesian maid in a "torture" case that sparked international outrage and spotlighted the plight of migrant domestic workers in the Middle East and Asia. (Photo: AFP/Philippe Lopez)

27 Dec 2017 07:31PM (Updated: 27 Dec 2017 07:40PM) Share this content


PHNOM PENH: Cambodia sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong on Wednesday (Dec 27) as the Asian financial hub scrambles to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals.

Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia.

But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labour have seized global headlines in recent years and threatened to stem the tide of migrant helpers.

Hong Kong has turned to Cambodia, one of Asia's poorest countries where the average monthly wage is around US$100, to offset a potential maid shortage.

The city's population is rapidly ageing and demand for domestic helpers is predicted to soar among those wealthy enough to afford them.

Under the pilot project, six agencies were authorised in August to recruit Cambodian domestic workers to work in Hong Kong.

Fourteen women who have received basic training in Cantonese among other skills flew to Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Seik Malay, 30, told AFP said she made the painful decision to leave her nine-year-old daughter behind in Cambodia to earn US$550 a month on a two-year contract in Hong Kong.

"With that salary, I will be able to support my family," she said, adding that she was not worried about the potential for mistreatment at the hands of Hong Kong employers.

Ngoy Rith, deputy chief of Cambodia's labour department, who is travelling to Hong Kong with the maids, downplayed concerns about exploitation despite a recent slew of cases of abuse.

"We have already prepared everything to handle those concerns," he told reporters before departure.

He said each Cambodian maid would be allowed to use a smartphone to contact their relatives or officials if they needed help.

Cambodia expects to send about 1,000 maids to Hong Kong next year.

A 2016 report by the Justice Centre found that one in six foreign maids in Hong Kong are subject to "forced labour".

Rights groups say unscrupulous employment agencies plunge helpers into debt and withhold their passports, while local restrictions such as requiring maids to live with their employers, often in tiny rooms, make it difficult to escape abuse.

In September 2016 hundreds of maids marched through Hong Kong after several helpers fell to their deaths as they tried to clean windows.

In 2015 employer Law Wan-tung was jailed for beating and starving her Indonesian helper.

Myanmar began sending domestic workers to the city in 2014.

But most returned home within months and the government later banned its women from working in Hong Kong over abuse concerns.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/as ... ls-9813958

horrible fuckers abusing there maids, why are asians upper class such c$&ts.

That wayward apostrophe made me think this thread was going to be about something else

hanno wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:41 am

Beerinthemorning wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:37 am horrible fuckers abusing there maids, why are asians upper class such c$&ts.

What about Australians: http://www.news.com.au/national/austral ... =rss-basic

hongkong and singaporians are all abusing the maids.

mostly chinese and indians who speak giberish sounding languages .

giberish? wot r 'giberish'?

Maid abuse isn't a racial or nationality issue, it is simply rich assholes abusing those that they have power over
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ry/524490/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 07041.html
https://www.rt.com/news/378927-saudi-ar ... ids-abuse/

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:50 am That wayward apostrophe made me think this thread was going to be about something else

Ditto. I had visions of flat stomach's, nice asses and that sooo sexy.....gap... Don't tease!