Paved with good intentions

The government of Indonesia, in attempting to protect nationals working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong, has left thousands of Indonesian workers helpless victims of unscrupulous employment agencies.

Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, continue to live under the yoke of employment agencies, many of which charge exorbitant fees, retain personal papers and engage in other unscrupulous practices.

The restriction on direct hiring (by employers) of Indonesian workers was put in place by the Indonesian government, ostensibly with the intention of improving the lives of those coming to Hong Kong to take up positions as domestic helpers.

A vast majority of foreign domestic helpers have to work seven months almost for free as a contract term with the employment agencies. Little progress has been made as the employment agencies continue to violate laws and regulations made by both the Indonesian and the SAR government. [Photos provided to China Daily]

During an exclusive interview with China Daily, Hari Budiato, Indonesian consul general in the SAR, admitted that there are unscrupulous employment agencies. Some underpay domestic helpers, confiscate travel documents, and charge exorbitant fees for job place.

Usually the employment agencies in Hong Kong charge HK$21,000, including HK$18,000 for the agency fee and HK$3,000 financing charges. Indonesian domestic helpers usually have to pay back the money by installment over a period of seven months.

"These agencies are abusing their power. They have benefited from the business but they abuse it. It's not right, and I don't like it," said Hari.

But the consul general argued that it is necessary that domestic helpers seek employment through the agencies.

"Domestic helpers need protection, and it is important for the agencies to protect them. Agencies encounter situations daily. If something happens to the migrant workers, agencies know immediately," he said.

He gave no hint that the Indonesian government intends to scrap the ban on direct hiring of domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Trade unionists have furiously protested the practice for years, citing hundreds of thousands of cases of agencies charging extortionate fees and committing other forms of malpractice.

In the past, direct hiring was permitted, when a domestic helper renewed her employment, upon completion of a two-year contract. But the Indonesian consulate general in Hong Kong decided to extend the ban on direct hiring to all situations in early 2010, according to Sringatin, an Exco member of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) as well as the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions.

"If migrant workers don't like the agency, they can change the agency," Budiato countered. "If the agencies are not good to them, they can report to us or to the Hong Kong government," He added that the consulate general would give warning to the unscrupulous employment agencies which operate under permit from the consulate.

The consul also said that the consulate would inform the Labor Department in Hong Kong, about agencies that may be operating in violation of the law. "But most of the agencies are good," he added.

The Labour Department of the SAR government, in response to China Daily's enquiry, said it has never received a single complaint from the Indonesian Consulate General, of any agency operating outside the law. The department spokesman continued, the department has been "staying in touch with the consulate", and have talked about labor issues concerning Indonesian migrant workers.

Indonesian domestic helpers are also under an additional restriction, that their right to change agencies was withdrawn in October 2011, when the consulate general issued a letter saying migrant workers cannot change agencies, until they have completed a two-year contract with the same employer, according to Sringatin.

"The Indonesian government has given all the responsibility to the employment agencies in Hong Kong and the recruitment agencies in Indonesia. They (the agencies) are like collecting protection money from us, they offer no protection to us, and neither does the consulate general. We protect ourselves," said Sringatin.