Govt Urged To Make Sure Helpers' Dorms Are Livable

The Ombudsman on Thursday called on the government to tighten regulations to ensure the standards of foreign domestic helpers' (FDH) dormitories, saying poor living conditions are unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view.

The office launched a direct investigation after the media identified problems such as overcrowding and poor hygiene following reports that some helpers staying in these units had come down with Covid-19.

Such units are usually provided by employment agencies for helpers who were waiting to fly home or for a renewal of their work visa.

"The government has no systematic data on the demand, locations, number and facilities of those premises, nor is there any dedicated legislation for regulating FDH boarding facilities," remarked Ombudsman Winnie Chiu in her report.

She said the boarding facilities perform a social function and it's essential that the government adopts measures to improve their standards.

She said authorities may first consider bringing in administrative measures before introducing any statutory requirements.

The Ombudsman suggested that the Labour Department (LD) creates a database of dormitories and adds new provisions to the code of practice for employment agencies to specify the standards of boarding facilities.

In response, the department said it welcomes the recommendations from the Ombudsman.

"Based on the improvement measures suggested in the Office of The Ombudsman's report, the LD will explore strengthening the monitoring of boarding facilities operated by [employment agencies] on the foundation of the existing regime and enhancing the transparency of information," a spokesman said.

He also said it has repeatedly reminded employment agencies to keep their boarding facilities clean.

The chairwoman of the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, Betty Yung, said she agrees that there should be some standards on how these dormitories should be run.

But she also said if there are too many regulations, employment agencies may shift the operating costs to the employers.

"The agencies have to look at the running costs... If you ask for too much, at last the agencies would put all these burdens to the employers, otherwise they cannot afford to run the business," Yung said.

She added that if the government agrees that these dormitories have a social function, officials should consider subsidising the running of these facilities.

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