Legal vacuum stymies domestic workers

Millions of women in China undertake household tasks for employers, but the hours are long and the use of informal contracts mean they are not protected by labor laws. Hou Liqiang reports.

In a windowless basement of a 30-story building, about a dozen female domestic workers were attending a meeting where they shared their employment experiences.

One of the attendees, a woman conducting market research for a local company, sparked a debate by asking the women if they had ever been subjected to verbal violence at work. The floodgates opened as the women related their experiences, while the researcher's attempts to change the subject were rebuffed.