Women's Day Rally Urges 11 Hours Of Rest For Maids

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2019-03-08 HKT 15:06

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  • The protesters say most of the domestic helpers in Hong Kong suffer from poor health and they do not get enough rest. Photo: RTHK

    The protesters say most of the domestic helpers in Hong Kong suffer from poor health and they do not get enough rest. Photo: RTHK

Protesters marking International Women's Day on Friday called on the Hong Kong government to enact laws that will ensure 11 hours of uninterrupted rest and a minimum wage of HK$5,500 for domestic helpers.

More than 20 protesters marched to the government's headquarters in the rally organised by the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body.

The group said that domestic helpers in Hong Kong, most of them women, suffer from poor health.

It said these workers get, on an average, only six to eight hours of rest time a day and they can be asked to work at any time.

Dolores Balladares, a spokeswoman for the group, said because there are no laws regulating working hours, helpers fear that they will be sacked if they refuse any request from their employers.

The body also wants the minimum wage of foreign domestic helpers increased from the present HK$4,520; improved living conditions for helpers so that they don't sleep in cramped places or even sometime in toilets; and for the government to prosecute recruitment agencies that overcharge helpers.

Members of the International Migrants Alliance and the League of Social Democrats also took part in the protest.

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