Low pay awaits Indonesian workers in Hong Kong

Finding a job is not always easy. Some have to leave their family and homelands to try their luck abroad. Yenni Kwok, a contributor to The Jakarta Post, recently went to Hong Kong to observe the condition of Indonesian migrant workers on the island. The following two articles are her reports.

HONG KONG (JP): In Victoria Park, not far from the Causeway Bay shopping area, some brown-skinned young women swayed their bodies to the dangdut music that blasted from a cheap portable stereo.

Some walked around with Sogo or Daimaru shopping bags. Hundreds of others sat on the grass, having a picnic and chatting in the Javanese language.

"I am here just to have fun, trying to forget my problems and stress," said Endah on why she spent her Sunday with hundreds of fellow Indonesians in the park.

Endah, a petite and feisty woman from East Java, is one of 19,800 Indonesian women who work as domestic helpers in this British colony. For the past three years, they have annually donated Rp 50 billion of remittance to their home country.

Behind the happy faces during the day outing, however, many hide stories of abuse. Indonesian domestic helpers are generally underpaid and overworked. They do not have any support group in case of miseries, and the recruitment agencies usually keep their passports and other important documents which are sometimes essential to file complaints.

Hong Kong labor ordinance stipulates that the minimum wage for a domestic helper is HK$ 3,860 (Rp 1,200,000) per month. However, a salary for an Indonesian worker usually falls between HK$2,000 to HK$3,000, said Rex Varona, a coordinator at the Asian Migrant Center.

The cheap rate of Indonesian workers is a public secret in Hong Kong. Remy Borlongan, the chairperson of the Asian Domestic Workers Union (ADWU), once saw people distributing flyers promoting cheap Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong subways.

In an employment contract, agencies and employers usually quote an employee's wage as HK$ 3,860 or higher, but in reality the employers are paid a lot less.

Indonesian workers are not the only ones whose wages are below minimum rates, said Devi Novianti, advisor at the Helpers for Domestic Helpers, a church-based volunteer organization. Indian and Sri Lankan workers also experience the same abuse.

The only difference is Indian and Sri Lankan workers are usually not aware of minimum wage regulations, while Indonesian workers know about it but choose to remain quiet.

Most Indonesian workers are recruited by employment agencies from rural areas in East Java. They are usually graduates or dropouts from secondary school.

The usual justification for lower wages is their lack of work experience and their inability to communicate with employers.

Endah admits that her wage is below the minimum wage, but she accepts it. "I deserve it because my English is no good," she said.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong acknowledges the reduced wage problem. While they have pledged to help any Indonesian workers' claim of grievances over reduced wages, they are not always in a position to stop the agencies' practices, according to Suhadi Salam, the head of the consulate's information section.

"If we limit the agencies, they may be reluctant to recruit more domestic workers. The ones who will suffer are Indonesian workers themselves. There will be no more remittance to East Java," Suhadi said.

For a long time, Filipino workers, who now total 135,000, have been Hong Kong's favorite choice for domestic helpers because many of them, like Borlongan, have a university education. The employers are willing to pay the minimum wages to Filipinos because they can speak English and can teach it to the employers' children, Varona said.

However, the trend is Indonesians are going to Hong Kong at a much higher rate than their Filipino counterparts. "The Philippines government has tried to reduce exporting workers, and consequently, people will look for Indonesians," Varona said.

The reduced wage has been the main attraction for Hong Kong people to hire Indonesians. The number of Indonesian workers in Hong Kong now only ranks second after the Filipinos. The past three years has seen the biggest boom for Indonesian workers.

The Indonesian government itself has long promoted labor exportation.

But in the 1990s, the strategy has become more necessary to relieve the unemployment of unskilled workers and to generate foreign remittance to help pay off foreign debts. Currently, Indonesia's outstanding foreign debt amounts to more than US$90 billion, the second largest debt among Asian countries after China.

Passports

The increase in the number of Indonesian workers is evident at the gateway of Hong Kong's international airport terminal.

One late night at Kai Tak Airport, groups of Malay-looking women in uniformed jackets and sweaters stand quietly waiting for immigration clearance. They are in sharp contrast to the shrill sound of Cantonese speakers and impatient tourists.

Although unaware, it might be the last night they hold their own passports. Recruitment agencies usually keep their documents and copies of their employment contract although this practice is considered a criminal act and can be reported to the police.

Nevertheless, Indonesian workers themselves do not mind. Take Endah for example. She does not mind that her passport is retained by the agency and understands that it is necessary to prevent a worker from running away.

Even the consulate prefers the agencies to keep the passports, but for a different reason. Suhadi said the practice is to prevent somebody from borrowing an Indonesian worker's passport to get a bank loan and then disappear.

"Indonesians are usually trusting people. Besides, agencies are legally acknowledged institutions," Suhadi said.

But Devi insists the agencies have no right to keep the passports, whatever the reason. After all, the owners hold the rights to them, not the agents.

Although 75 percent of the reported cases to Helpers for Domestic Helpers concerns underpayment, physical abuse still occurs.

While physical abuse is not an isolated problem among Indonesian migrant workers, Indonesians are usually in a more disadvantaged position, Varona said.

Filipino workers are more daring to speak up because they can speak English and can turn to their government representatives in the British colony. Thai workers, who rank third in number after Filipinos and Indonesians, generally cannot speak English but their consulate provides them support and shelter.

Indonesians, on the other hand, do not have such a support network. They usually seek shelter from NGOs, which they are not usually familiar with. Before the migrant workers arrive, they are usually warned not to become involved with NGOs, Varona said.

In case of grievances with their employers, the consulate general usually suggest workers go to their own agency to settle the issue out of court. But the agencies are known to side with the employers.

That was the case with Sri (not her real name). Since Sri arrived in Hong Kong to work four months ago, she has been physically abused. She was slapped because she could not understand her employers who spoke Cantonese, because she overcooked the rice, or because her hands were sweaty when she held the child. "I just want to earn a living for my family, but why do I end up being beaten up?" Sri asked herself while holding back tears.

One day, pretending she was going to take the garbage out, Sri ran away. She called the agency, but they told her to return to her boss. She also called the consulate, but she hung up because the person who answered the phone did not speak Indonesian. She finally found shelter at the Asian Migrant Center and waited for a settlement.

In less than four months, this British colony will be returned to China. What will be the plight of Indonesian workers? Will they be able to continue working under Chinese rule?

So far there has been no discussion between the Indonesian and Chinese government about the situation, Suhadi said. But the Philippines President Fidel Ramos has already obtained assurance from the Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, that Filipino workers can continue to work after the hand over.

"We hope this policy will extend to other migrant workers, including Indonesia," Suhadi said.