********************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (February 11):
Question:
Regarding the problem of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) being abused by their employers or family members of their employers, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) of the total number of FDHs granted employment visas to work in Hong Kong in the past three years, with a breakdown by their nationality;
(2) of the total number of complaints or requests for assistance received by the authorities in the past three years involving FDHs being subjected to violence by their employers or family members of their employers; among these cases, of the respective numbers of those which were (i) initiated by the FDHs concerned, (ii) referred by intermediaries, and (iii) referred by other persons;
(3) of the total number of cases, in which prosecutions were instituted by the authorities in the past three years, that involved FDHs being subjected to violence by their employers or family members of their employers; the respective numbers of employers and other persons involved, as well as the penalties imposed by the Court on the convicted persons;
(4) of the existing legislation and measures in place to protect the personal safety of FDHs; the new measures the authorities have put in place for protection of FDHs since the occurrence of an incident early last year in which an FDH was allegedly abused by her employer, which aroused wide public concern, together with the details of such measures; and
(5) as the authorities indicated in February last year that the Labour Department was considering how best to strengthen the present licensing mechanism for employment agencies placing FDHs with a view to enhancing the protection of the interests of both employers and FDHs, of the progress of such efforts?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Emily Lau is as follows:
(1) According to statistics provided by the Immigration Department (ImmD), the numbers of employment visas approved for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) with breakdown by nationality in the past three years were set in the Annex.
(2) The Police and ImmD do not maintain the relevant statistics.
(3) In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the Police received respectively 40, 37 and 38 reports of wounding and serious assault cases involving FDHs being attacked by their employers. The Police also received respectively 60, 64 and 57 reports of wounding and serious assault cases involving FDHs being attacked by people other than their employers between 2012 and 2014. The Government does not maintain statistics on the relevant sentencing outcome.
(4) The personal safety of any person in Hong Kong (including FDHs) is protected by law. Inflicting bodily harm is a very serious offence. Any person who is charged with "shooting or attempting to shoot, or wounding or striking with intent to do grievous bodily harm" under section 17 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) shall be subject to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Besides, any person who is charged with "wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm" under section 19 of the above Ordinance shall be liable to imprisonment for three years. FDHs who are abused or assaulted by their employers are advised to contact the Police and report any unlawful acts as soon as possible.
If an FDH has been criminally intimidated or abused and is required to remain in Hong Kong for assisting in investigation or acting as a witness etc. after the termination or expiry of his/her contract; or he/she is awaiting the hearing of Labour Tribunal or Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board owing to a labour dispute, ImmD may, based on individual merits, exercise discretion to allow him/her to extend his/her stay in Hong Kong as a visitor. Also, these records will be kept and taken into account by ImmD in considering any future applications for employment of FDHs by the employers. If the FDH wishes to continue to work in Hong Kong, he/she may apply for change of employer. ImmD will assess his/her application in accordance with the current policy and procedures. If there is evidence that the FDH has been abused or exploited, or if there are other compassionate grounds, ImmD may exercise discretion to approve the application for change of employer in Hong Kong.
The Labour Department (LD) has since last year stepped up publicity and educational efforts in this regard. Examples include placing advertisements in local Filipino and Indonesian newspapers regularly, screening new television and radio Announcement of Public Interest, staging more information kiosks at popular gathering places of FDHs as well as continuing to distribute information packs and pamphlets at the airport and various government offices, etc., so as to raise the awareness of FDHs and employers of their respective rights and obligations. Furthermore, as past publicity efforts focused more on employment rights and benefits, the Government has since last year included information in its publicity and promotional material on how FDHs should handle situations of intrusion of personal safety and channels for seeking redress.
Furthermore, LD has stepped up collaboration with the Consulate-Generals of FDH-exporting countries in Hong Kong (CGs). It has been joining the CGs' briefings for newly-arrived FDHs and their cultural events from time to time, and has established a liaison mechanism with these CGs for information sharing and co-ordination of the educational and publicity activities.
(5) For regulation of employment agencies (EAs), LD has been conducting more frequent inspections to EAs and strengthened the liaison and information sharing with CGs of major FDH-exporting countries. In addition, LD is preparing a Code of Practice for the industry, listing out acts that are allowed and those that should be avoided by EAs (e.g. EAs should not be involved in the financial or loans affairs of FDHs) so as to strengthen the regulation of EAs. The Government aims to complete the drafting work within this year for consulting the industry and the public.
Ends/Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:02
NNNN
