Every Sunday, the public spaces and walkways of Hong Kong are jammed with Philippine and Indonesian domestic workers using their one day off to gather with their friends and fellow countrywomen.
The gleaming skyscrapers of the financial hub are a far cry from the often poor neighborhoods they have come from. Now a landmark court ruling has given them a chance to apply for permanent residency — but the decision, which has polarized opinions in the southern Chinese territory, has also prompted different reactions among maids themselves.
Newspapers are filled with opposing arguments and rival protests were held in the run-up to the case hearing, with more planned for yesterday.
Photo: AFP
For some maids, the ruling -represents the hope of a better future. Sumiati Mia, 51, an Indonesian who has worked as a domestic helper since 1989, said she would “definitely” apply for permanent residency.
“It would be hard, we know it. Rents are sky-high,” she told the South China Morning Post. “But then, I do not want to be a domestic helper forever.”
However, costs and family ties are a deterrent for others. Asriyatun, 34, said “I would like to go back” without hesitation after working for six years in Hong Kong. Foreigners can seek permanent residency in Hong Kong after seven years of uninterrupted stay, gaining rights to vote and to live in the territory without a work visa.
There are as many as 292,000 foreign maids in the territory, but they were specifically excluded from being allowed to apply. In the first case of its kind in Asia, the territory’s High Court ruled on Friday that the provision was unconstitutional.
Permanent residency would mean a domestic worker was no longer tied to a single employer, but could take any job and access benefits such as public housing.
According to a pro-government political party, there could be an influx of as many as 500,000 people — including children and spouses of foreign maids — costing HK$25 billion (US$3.2 billion) in social welfare spending.
Unemployment could jump from the current 3.5 percent to 10 percent, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said.
Following the ruling, about 117,000 foreign maids are entitled to apply for permanent residency in the densely populated territory of 7 million, where rents are sky-high and the income gap is widening.
“I love Hong Kong, it’s a great city and we are treated better here,” said Asriyatun, wearing a black Islamic headscarf and chatting with a group of other Indonesian maids at Victoria Park, their regular meeting spot. “But I have no plan to apply for permanent residency when I become eligible next year. I’m here to work, I have a family in Indonesia, I want to go back.”
Hong Kong is known as a better place for domestic helpers than many other parts of Asia. The territory’s foreign maids are guaranteed one day off a week, paid sick leave and a minimum wage of HK$3,740 (US$480) a month.
However, rights groups say they still face general discrimination and a lack of legal protection. A maid’s visa is tied to a specific employer and activists say this leaves her vulnerable.
The government was disappointed with Friday’s ruling and said it would appeal.
It is planning to seek the court’s permission to not process any -foreign maids’ residency applications while the appeal is under way, and some lawmakers have called on Hong Kong to refer the issue to Beijing.
Critics were rallying supporters to protest against the ruling yesterday.
“We recognize the contribution of domestic workers and their role in our economy, they free up many local women to join the workforce,” said businessman Jeff Lam, who opposed granting maids permanent residency.
“To give them permanent residency, however, is a separate story,” said Lam, who himself has a Filipina domestic worker to help with house chores.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was