Who Cares about Carers? How to Better Protect Migrant Domestic Workers in Hong Kong  

Guest post by Cynthia Orchard. Cynthia Orchard is a consultant Policy and Advocacy Advisor with the Leitner Center. She has advocated for the rights of refugees and migrants with various organisations, including UNHCR, KIND UK, Asylum Aid, the Refugee Studies Centre, and others. She has degrees in political science, law, and international human rights law.  

Some migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong are forced to sleep on their employers’ floors, in cabinets, bathrooms, or on balconies. Many work 14-16 hours or more per day for a minimal salary.  

“Maltreatment is common, and many don't receive adequate food, often limited to noodles or just bread daily,” stated an interviewee for the Leitner Center’s report, Unseen Struggles: Addressing Migrant Rights in Hong Kong. 

There are approximately 340,000 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, 98.5 percent of them women. They come to Hong Kong mainly from other Asian countries, most commonly the Philippines and Indonesia. These women are critical to Hong Kong’s economy: they care for Hong Kong residents’ children and older people, cook their food, and clean their homes.  

Despite their vital role, the rights of migrant domestic workers are often unfulfilled. They are subject to laws that keep many in abusive situations, such as a requirement to live with their employers (the “live in” rule); there are significant barriers to changing employers; and they must leave Hong Kong within 2 weeks if they lose their job (the “2 week” rule). They are entitled to 1 day off per week, but employers do not always respect their day off. Many migrant domestic workers suffer from mental health conditions, and many face challenges in accessing healthcare.  

The minimum wage for migrant domestic workers –  increased by a disappointingly low 2.5 percent in September 2024 – is still only about a quarter of the general minimum wage in Hong Kong. Most of these women (83 percent) incur significant debt with unscrupulous agents to get to Hong Kong, and much of their meagre income goes to repayment. Many are unable to access banks in Hong Kong, increasing their vulnerability to financial exploitation. They are not allowed to bring their children – obliging many to leave children with relatives back home for years. Some migrant domestic workers who become pregnant in Hong Kong are fired, despite laws restricting this. Trafficking and other abuses often occur with impunity because migrant domestic workers fear they will suffer negative consequences if they report abuse.  

Advocacy for migrant domestic workers 

The plight of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong is not new – it has been ongoing for many years. But, as for others in Hong Kong, their situation worsened with the introduction of the 2020 National Security Law. This law and related developments have restricted advocacy for and by migrant domestic workers, who fear arrest and/or deportation if they stand up for their rights, though some advocates continue their efforts in more limited ways, despite the risks.  

At a review of China’s human rights record at the UN in early 2024 (the Universal Periodic Review), several states recommended improvements in the protection of migrant workers. The Chinese Government has accepted some of these recommendations, for example, the Philippines’ recommendation to ‘Strengthen access to remedy mechanisms for foreign migrant workers’; and Senegal’s and Indonesia’s recommendations to increase efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers and their family members. In contrast, the Chinese Government rejected or merely noted recommendations by the US and Bahrain relating to migrants’ rights and referring to discrimination or repression, claiming these recommendations were based on false information. 

There is hope that implementation of the accepted recommendations could lead to improvements for migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, but this may require further advocacy.  

What more can be done in Hong Kong and globally?  

Key recommendations for the Government of Hong Kong to better to protect migrant domestic workers include, for example:  

• eliminating legal barriers that prevent migrant domestic workers from leaving abusive employers, including the "two-week" rule, the "live-in" rule, and restrictions on changing jobs;  
• increasing the minimum wage and food allowances for migrant domestic workers;  
• reforming policies that inhibit migrant domestic workers' access to formal financial institutions;  
• cracking down on extortionate lending and recruitment practices;  
• introducing and enforcing more effective protections for migrant domestic workers who become pregnant; and  
• Implementing more effective training, screening, and enforcement mechanisms to address trafficking.  

A global issue: These issues are not limited to Hong Kong, as evidenced by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the current UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and his predecessor, a 2024 report by the International Federation of Domestic Workers, and as highlighted by Pope Francis during his recent visit to Singapore. The ILO estimates there are 11.5 million migrant domestic workers globally. Many face unfair legal regimes and human rights abuses around the world.  

Other governments could pressure the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to improve the situation of Hong Kong’s migrant domestic workers. They could also take steps to ensure that multi-national corporations doing business in their countries are taking adequate measures to ensure their staff are not complicit in violating migrant domestic workers’ human rights in Hong Kong (or elsewhere). Further, where relevant, they could address the abuse of migrant domestic workers in their own countries and offer better information and protection for their nationals who seek employment as migrant domestic workers. 

International companies with offices in Hong Kong (and elsewhere) could make greater efforts to fulfil their pledges to prevent trafficking and modern slavery, for example through implementing the ‘C.A.R.E Program’ proposed by the Domestic Workers Justice Initiative to ensure their staff do not employ migrant domestic workers in exploitive conditions. 

Lawyers and NGOs should continue their vital work to support migrant domestic workers, engage in advocacy, and litigate where appropriate. In a recent landmark case, for example, litigation led to a decision by the UK Supreme Court that diplomats who profit from the exploitation of domestic workers in conditions constituting modern slavery cannot rely on claims of diplomatic immunity to prevent a domestic worker’s claim for compensation. Prosecution for criminal offenses has also been successful in other cases, including, for example, a Swedish man convicted of raping a domestic worker in Hong Kong; a Hong Kong woman jailed for abusing a domestic worker, and the prosecution of the wealthy Hinduja family, found guilty by a Swiss criminal court of abuse of domestic workers.  

This article is based in part on the 2023 report Unseen Struggles: Addressing Migrant Rights in Hong Kong and a related submission by the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham University Law School to the UN’s Universal Periodic Review and a submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights study on care and human rights. Further information will be available on the website of the Leitner Center’s partner organization, CivicSight and CivicSight’s Know Your Rights HK platform.  

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