The Hong Kong government has been urged to provide foreign domestic workers affected by the deadly Tai Po fire with multilingual information to help them access aid and ensure visa extensions if they lose their jobs.
The blaze at Wang Fuk Court, a housing estate in Tai Po, has killed at least 159 people, including nine domestic workers from Indonesia and one from the Philippines.
Hong Kong authorities estimate that more than 200 migrant domestic workers were working at Wang Fuk Court when the fire hit. Three workers – one from the Philippines and two from Indonesia – have been injured in the fire.
In a letter to Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun on Friday, the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB), a coalition of migrant worker associations and unions in Hong Kong, highlighted that surviving domestic workers face unique challenges related to accessing relief support and their employment.
Language barrier
Domestic workers face a language barrier because information about welfare services, relief supplies, and financial support is usually available in Chinese and English only, Shiela Tebia, a spokesperson for the AMCB, said in the letter.
“This prevents the impacted [migrant workers] from being fully and timely informed about the support they are entitled to and how to access it,” she said.
She urged the government to establish a multilingual information platform offering explanations on how to apply for financial relief and aid in Filipino, Indonesian, English, and other languages.
Sun previously said on Wednesday that families of foreign domestic workers who died in Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades would receive financial relief and compensation totalling nearly HK$800,000.
Migrant workers injured in the blaze will receive a one-off financial assistance package of either HK$50,000 or HK$100,000, depending on the duration of their hospital stay.
The government will also hand out HK$20,000 to domestic workers who survived the fire. The surviving victims will also receive an Octopus card with HK$2,000.
Despite the financial assistance, surviving migrant domestic workers are at risk of sudden job loss after the fire displaced nearly 2,000 households, the AMCB said.
“For those [migrant workers] who survived, the future remains uncertain as their employers also face devastating loss,” Tebia said.
“With their employers’ loss of housing and diminished financial situation, it is predictable that some [migrant workers] might soon be informed that their services are no longer needed,” she said.
Under the current rules, a domestic worker must either secure a new job or leave Hong Kong within two weeks after dismissal or the end of their contract.
Tebia said the “two-week rule” may be particularly damaging to domestic workers who survived the Tai Po fire, as it is insufficient for them to recover from the tragedy, adding that payment of other contractual entitlements may be delayed.
The government should also ensure special visa extensions for those who are laid off due to the fire, Tebia said.
The AMCB also suggested the government set up a dedicated social worker taskforce to assist domestic workers affected by the blaze and create a fast-track mechanism for them to claim unpaid entitlements.
Sun said during a press conference on Tuesday that authorities would be “as flexible and helpful as possible” in assisting domestic workers in their recovery from the tragedy.
Scam warning
Separately, four workers’ welfare NGOs – including the AMCB, the Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW), the Network of Indonesian Migrant Workers (JBMI), HELP for Domestic Workers, and the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims (ARIAV) – issued a joint statement on Tuesday urging the public not to donate money directly to the families of domestic workers affected by the fire.
The NGOs are in contact with the families to help, according to the joint statement..
“As each family’s circumstances and financial situation differ, time is needed to carefully assess the most appropriate assistance plan and delivery method,” the groups said.
“We have also noted fraudulent activities exploiting the Tai Po fire. We urge the public to remain vigilant and avoid unverified online donation appeals, especially requests to transfer money to overseas personal accounts claiming to belong to victims’ families.”
