Repeal of Live-out Ban for HK Maids Urged

• Tweet
• Pin It

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong have renewed a campaign against the mandatory live-in arrangement that has been imposed on them by the Immigration Department since 2003.

The move comes in the wake of reports, both in mainstream media and social networking sites, of several instances of FDWs being made to sleep in toilets, overhead cupboards, or with adult male wards, presumably because their employers do not have space for them in their homes.

The most widely reported case was that of the Indonesian maid of popular Chinese singer Purple Lee who was allegedly made to sleep on a cushion, right beside the toilet bowl (see photos on Page 11).

Under the existing policy, all foreign domestic workers are required to live with their employers, unless the latter had obtained permission prior to 2003, to have their helpers live elsewhere.

Cynthia Tellez, manager of Mission for Migrant Workers, said the forced live-in arrangement has resulted in widespread abuse of FDWs.

Continue reading at The Sun