Little holiday cheer for Indonesian workers in HK<\/p>\n
By Sari Sartika Natley<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (JP): In late December, Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok
\nAirport was mobbed by Filipino domestic workers. They dragged
\nluggage full of gifts and presents for their families.<\/p>\n
They were going home for Christmas.<\/p>\n
It was not the same for their Indonesian counterparts a couple
\nof weeks later. This year, like in the past, Lebaran was a low-
\nkey event in Hong Kong. Idul Fitri is not a public holiday and
\nits celebration is virtually unknown in this Confucian society.<\/p>\n
The only Lebaran rite for these overseas Indonesians was the
\nShalat Ied prayer on the morning of Jan. 19, held by the
\nIndonesian Consulate General. They returned home later, not to
\ntheir beloved families and relatives, but to cook, clean and do
\nother household chores. It was business as usual.<\/p>\n
Many domestic helpers chose to celebrate on the Sunday after
\nIdul Fitri. Victoria Park, a favorite hangout for Indonesian
\ndomestic workers, was more crowded than usual on Jan. 24. About
\n4,000 young women turned out to picnic, exchange photos and
\ngossip. Friends greeted each other with the traditional Minal
\naidzin wal faizin (I beg your forgiveness if I erred in the
\npast).<\/p>\n
In the middle of the field, a dozen migrant workers chose not
\nto forget the traditional way of marking Lebaran. They donned
\nheadscarves, read the Koran and recited prayers.<\/p>\n
Aside from this small group, most of the people in the park
\nseemed to be oblivious to the religious aspects of Idul Fitri.
\nMany women danced the afternoon away with dangdut or techno
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the true meaning of the festivities had been lost
\nsince Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't even fast,\" Tumini, 35, admitted. \"My boss was
\nafraid I would have fallen sick if I had not eaten.\"<\/p>\n
Some could not hide their homesickness. Rani (not her real
\nname) said: \"I cried when I called home and heard my family
\nbreaking the fast.\"<\/p>\n
Being a good mother, Tumini usually sends money to her two
\nchildren in East Java. But she said she did not send anything
\nmore for Lebaran. Living in Hong Kong was expensive enough for
\nher, and her wage barely covers her expenses.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, every two months she manages to send HK$3000 (Rp
\n3.6 million) home. That is her one month wage, which is below the
\nstipulated minimum of HK$3,860 (Rp 4.6 million rupiah).<\/p>\n
In early 1997, when The Jakarta Post published a story on
\nIndonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, low wages were a
\nrampant problem for them. Two years later, things have not
\nchanged much. Bien Venido, the organizing and education
\ncoordinator of the Asian Migrant Center, said: \"According to
\nstatistics, Indonesians have the most cases of underpayment,
\nwhile they are the second biggest.\"<\/p>\n
Today the migrant workers are facing more problems and
\nuncertainties. Once an economic miracle and business haven, Hong
\nKong is set to endure a tough year. Many companies have cut
\nsalaries and slashed their workforce. Unemployment has reached
\n5.8 percent, the highest since the government began tracking the
\nfigures in 1983.<\/p>\n
Amid the economic gloom, local politician Jennifer Chow Kit-
\nbing proposed last September a 20 percent cut in domestic
\nhelpers' minimum wage.<\/p>\n
It caused an uproar among the domestic helpers, most notably
\nfrom the better organized Filipinos. Their unions arranged
\nseveral rallies to oppose wage cuts.<\/p>\n
The education and manpower department is still reviewing the
\nfate of the minimum wage, either to cut or freeze it. In reality,
\nhowever, employers have already started to cut wages, especially
\nfor Indonesian maids.<\/p>\n
\"Employers will think twice about giving full minimum wages,\"
\nsaid Tumini. Rani agreed. She said the most affected ones were
\nthe newcomers and those renewing contracts.<\/p>\n
At the end of 1998, there were about 31,800 Indonesians
\nworking as domestic helpers in Hong Kong, a 30 percent increase
\nfrom 1997 (see table below).<\/p>\n
Filipinos, who constitute the biggest domestic helpers'
\nworkforce, only experienced a 1.7 percent increase, from 138,100
\nin December 1997 to 140,400 in 1998.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesians are the fastest growing (group),\" Venido
\nacknowledged. Unfortunately, they are also the weakest and the
\nleast protected of all.<\/p>\n
Few of them receive the standard minimum wage. Some even
\nreceive as little as HK$1,800 (Rp 2.2 million) or HK$2,000 (Rp
\n2.4 million rupiah). Although these amounts are much higher than
\ncomparable monthly wages in Indonesia, ranging from Rp 100,000 to
\nRp 200,000, cost of living in Hong Kong is considerably higher.<\/p>\n
Recently, the Hong Kong government cracked down on seven
\nrecruitment agencies suspected of violating the law. They were
\naccused of charging exorbitant fees to Indonesian maids and
\noffering them to employers at nearly half of the legal minimum
\nwage. Thirty-nine people were questioned.<\/p>\n
However, the crackdown is still far from solving the problem
\nof abuses. The reason why Indonesians are, and have always been,
\nmistreated, workers and activists allege, is collusion between
\nthe consulate general and the agencies. To renew contracts, for
\nexample, the workers need to present the consulate general's
\nstamp to Hong Kong's immigration department.<\/p>\n
To obtain the consulate's stamp, strangely enough, the workers
\nneed to get their employment agency's stamp, even though workers
\nfrom the Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka do not face the same
\nrequirement.<\/p>\n
On top of this bureaucratic tape, the workers have to pay the
\nagencies HK$8,000, and their employers have to fork out HK$5,000.<\/p>\n
These are not the only costs the domestic workers have to dig
\nfrom their pockets. Agencies usually hold domestic workers'
\npassports, a practice illegal under Hong Kong law but apparently
\ngiven the blessing of the Indonesian Consulate General.<\/p>\n
If the workers need to \"borrow\" their passports, they must pay
\nHK$300. To claim their passports back, the \"settlement fee\" is
\nHK$3,000.<\/p>\n
In the recent crackdown on recruitment agencies, the
\nimmigration department also confiscated 2,909 Indonesian
\npassports. They will be returned to the owners.<\/p>\n
It was a few days before Lebaran when several domestic
\nworkers heard about the news. They cheered, laughed and nodded
\ntheir heads happily. It was an early, or perhaps the only, gift
\namid this pessimistic festive season.<\/p>",
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