Modern-day slavery behind closed doors : a study on the human rights violations of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong

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Modern-day slavery behind closed doors

A study on the human rights violations of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong

Heleen Weijer

10718001

Master thesis Political Science, International Relations

Submitted to: dr. S.J. Lim

Second reader: dr. J.Y. Gruin

The Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam

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Abstract

As indispensable actors in the Hong Kong society and economy, Filipino domestic workers comprise around 10 percent of Hong Kong’s working population. Being well known for its decent labour regulations, the former British colony keeps attracting annual increasing numbers of domestic workers origination from the Philippines. However, once arrived in Hong Kong, decent labour regulations seem to be utterly absent as Filipino domestic workers are subject to human rights violations, ill-treatment, poor working conditions, abuses and exploitations. How are we to understand these abusive practices? This thesis examines why foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong coming from Southeast Asia, and in particular from the Philippines, are subject to these abuses and human rights violations. By analysing (a) governmental and intergovernmental actors, (b) recruitment agencies and (c) native Hong Kong citizens and employers, three mechanisms are being determined which eventually lead to the conclusion that a structural problem is underlying the poor working conditions and abusive situations faced by the Filipino domestic workers; the perception of them being second-rate citizens.

KEY WORDS: Hong Kong, Philippines, foreign domestic workers, human rights violations, recruitment agencies, employers.

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List of acronyms

IMF International Monetary Fund

FADWU Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FDH Foreign Domestic Helper

FDW Foreign Domestic Worker

GDP Gross Domestic Product

ICMR International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

ILO International Labour Organization

MAW Minimum Allowable Wage

MDW Migrant Domestic Worker

MFA Minimum Food Allowance

PLU Progressive Labor Union of Domestic Workers in Hong Kong

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Introduction

Being an indispensable and crucial part of Hong Kong society, Filipino domestic workers residing in the former British colony represent an invisible sector of work (Sayres 2005: 5). As a report by the International Labour Organization argues; ‘’[t]he [domestic] work itself occurs behind private doors, beyond the reach of labour laws and enforcement authorities. Within households, domestic helpers are expected to work continually and for long hours, but must be as unseen as possible’’ (ibid.: 5). According to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, in 2016 a total of 351,513 foreign domestic workers were employed in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department 2017a: 250). Of these foreign domestic workers, Filipinos accounted for 189,105, which is almost 53 percent (ibid.).

For decades, Filipinos have been leaving their country to find employment overseas. In the 1920s, the Philippines started sending workers abroad in order to overcome the then prevailing labour shortages among Philippine citizens. Filipino workers going overseas predominantly went to Hawaii to work in plantations (Martin, Abella and Midgley 2004: 1548). In the 1970s, under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos, the so-called ‘’man power exchange program’’ was introduced which was intended to help Philippine workers gain foreign currency, skills and technological knowledge (Chant and McIlwain 1995 in Parreñas 2008: 4-5). When in 1972 the Philippines suffered a severe debt crisis, overseas contract work was being implemented as a development strategy by the IMF (International Monetary Fund). This measure was part of structural adjustment policies aiming to overcome the crisis (Lindo-McGovern 2004: 217). In order to increase the flows of foreign exchange, in 1974, the Philippines adopted the Overseas Employment Program (Lindo-McGovern 2004: 217).

While working overseas, Filipino domestic workers send money in remittances to their home country. These remittances were of such considerable importance that exporting labour seemed more profitable and efficient than exporting consumer goods. This way, overseas workers became a valuable commodity to the Philippine economy (Rodriguez 2002: 348). Currently, as data from the World Bank shows, the overseas remittances account for 10% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the Philippines, and the country is one of the biggest labour-exporting countries in Asia and among the top countries in the world.1

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One of the primary destinations of Filipino domestic workers is Hong Kong. When Hong Kong was facing a shortage of live-in domestic helpers in the early 1970s, its government introduced the policy of admission of FDH’s (foreign domestic helpers) (Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat 2017). Since then, the number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong has been growing. According to a report by the Justice Centre Hong Kong, in 2015, foreign domestic workers comprised around 4.4 percent of the total population, and 10 percent of the total working population (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 20). In light of the ageing Hong Kong population, it is likely this demand will keep growing. As the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr. Law Chi-kwong, explains, ‘’[…] an additional 240,000 foreign domestic helpers [are needed], just for looking after the elderly’’ (Siu 2017). Besides taking care of the Hong Kong elderly population, these foreign domestic workers likewise contribute to the Hong Kong economy by allowing and encouraging especially middle-class Hong Kong women to participate in the labour market (Hau-nung Chang 2005: 525), In addition, the consumption spending by the domestic workers, payments to the recruitment agencies as well as the costs they save Hong Kong families on child- and elderly care are of economic contribution (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 21).

According to the Hong Kong government, the city is one of the best places to work as a (foreign) domestic helper (ibid.: 13). Hong Kong is first of all in close proximity to the Philippines, which means that considering the distance, it is relatively easy for the Filipino women to go back to their home country. The distance between both countries can be bridged by a two hours flight. Many Filipino domestic workers are drawn to Hong Kong due to the relatively high wages the city is offering (International Labour Organization 2012). The Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW) for foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong is currently set at 4,410 Hong Kong dollars per month.2Compared to Singapore where the MAW is set at 570 Singapore dollars, which converted is around 3,410 Hong Kong dollars3, and Dubai where no MAW is set4, Hong Kong holds a favourite position among foreign domestic workers regarding these wage differences.

The Justice Centre Hong Kong argues that the city is able to provide this relatively high wage because it belongs to one of the richest economies of Asia (Justice Centre Hong Kong

2_{See https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/employment/recruitment/foreigndomestichelper.htm. Consulted on}

16/04/2018.

3_{See https://blog.helperchoice.com/polo-singapore-announces-increase-in-filipino-helpers-minimum-salary.}

Consulted on 16/04/2018.

4_{See https://www.helperchoice.com/dubai/how-much-should-i-pay-my-domestic-worker-in-dubai. Consulted on}

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2016). Statistics show that in 2016, Hong Kong ranked as the fourth richest nation of Asia and seventeenth of the world with a nominal GDP per capita of 42,963 US dollars.5 Furthermore, Hong Kong is acknowledged as an important international financial centre. Ranking number one in terms of the degree of economic freedom and Hong Kong’s additional free market economy and nontariff trade barriers make the country ‘’an exceptionally competitive financial and business hub’’ (The Heritage Foundation 2018). In addition, besides being the freest economy globally, Hong Kong economy ranks high in terms of host and investor of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2016, regarding FDI inflows, Hong Kong ranked fourth world wide with inflows amounting to 108 billion US dollars. Outflows in the same year amounted to 62 billion US dollars, ranking Hong Kong third within Asia (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2017).

Regarding foreign domestic workers, the Justice Centre Hong Kong furthermore explains that Hong Kong appears to be an attractive city to work in because ‘’unlike other jurisdictions, Hong Kong has a formal temporary labour scheme for domestic workers […] and it has one of the most liberal visa regimes in the world’’ (ibid.: 21). In addition, the Hong Kong government argues that they highly value and respect the safety and rights of the foreign domestic workers. Resultingly, regulations they have put in place are for instance a rest period of at least 24 hours per week and a Minimum Food Allowance (MFA) (ibid.). This Minimum Food Allowance must be paid by the employer to the domestic worker when no food free of charge is being provided. Currently, the MFA has to be at least 1,053 Hong Kong dollars per month.6 Considering these regulations, it appears that Hong Kong is living up to its reputation of being ‘’an oasis of human rights in the region’’ (International Labour Organization 2012). In addition, Filipino domestic workers are preferred by Hong Kong employers. Not only do they speak English, they are furthermore more ‘westernized’ and diligent than foreign domestic workers of different nationalities (Constable 2007 [1997]: 28-30).

Considering the regulations explained above, it can be expected that Filipino domestic workers residing and working in Hong Kong will experience a pleasant stay under decent circumstances and conditions. However, reports and statistics show that foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, among of which are Filipinos, experience severe abuses and exploitation (Mission for Migrant Workers 2017; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016). According to the Migration Policy Institute, domestic workers are ‘’uniquely vulnerable to exploitation

5_{Statistics Times. See http://statisticstimes.com/economy/asian-countries-by-gdp-per-capita.php. Consulted on}

04/05/2018.

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and abuse, notwithstanding provisions put in place to protect their basic rights’’ (Liang 2016). A 2016 study by Justice Centre Hong Kong shows that around 95 percent of the foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong show signs of exploitation and abuses, which subsequently means that only around 5,4 percent seems to experience a pleasant stay (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016).

This thesis will examine why foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong coming from Southeast Asia, and in particular from the Philippines, are subject to these abuses and human rights violations. In other words; why are the abuses and violations faced by foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong such a significant problem. In order to understand the drivers of the maltreatments faced by Filipino domestic workers, there is a need to examine which mechanisms are contributing factors. Hence, in this thesis the following three (f)actors will be researched; governmental and intergovernmental actors, private recruitment agencies and Hong Kong native citizens and employers. In addition, a potential conditioning argument will be examined in terms of a supply-demand dynamic. Lastly, the case of Hong Kong will be placed in a global framework in order to contextualize and understand the broader context, where after a conclusion will be elaborated upon.

Literature review and theoretical framework

The lives of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong can be described as modern-day slavery behind closed doors. Ill-treatment, underpayment, poor living conditions and human rights abuses are no exception to the rule. All of this is taking place behind the closed doors of the employer’s residence, leaving the unethical, poignant circumstances faced by Filipino domestic workers unseen to the outside world. As there is a need to open these doors, the aim of this literature review is to find out which mechanisms lead to the human rights violations and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong.

In current literature, the topics of labour migration and modern-day slavery have abundantly been covered from a north-south context. However, little attention has been paid to intraregional migratory processes, in particular of low-skilled migrant labourers within Southeast Asia, even though these migration flows are significant. In aiming to establish the mechanisms underlying the human rights violations and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of data will first of all be determined. Hereafter, the (f)actors determined to be contributing to the human rights violations and abusive and exploitive situations in existing literature will be reviewed and commonly used

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theoretical frameworks and conceptual devices will be identified. Eventually, mechanisms underlying and contributing to the human rights violations and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong will be established.

Coverage

Focusing on describing existing (f)actors playing part in the intraregional migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong which are contributing to their abuses and human rights violations, articles particularly concerned with interregional migratory processes have been excluded for the reason that sufficient research has been conducted on this topic already, especially on interregional migratory processes in a north-south context. Subsequently, existing research and scholarly articles included in this review focus primarily on intraregional migratory processes within (Southeast) Asia. So, from a south-south context.

However, as not much research has been conducted on the intraregional demand for low-skilled migrant labourers from a theoretical perspective, scholarly articles focusing on theoretical frameworks explaining interregional demand for low-skilled migrant labourers, particularly in a north-south context, are included to serve as an applicable explanation and dynamic for the human rights violations and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. Furthermore, scholarly articles and non-governmental policy reports specifically focusing on Filipino domestic workers have been included.

Finally, the literature in this review only includes articles written in the past twenty years, from 1998 till 2018. Important to note is that in order to create an accurate overview of the current situation of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong and in order to be aware of the latest policy updates, literature specifically focussing on their situation covers a smaller timespan as these articles and non-governmental policy reports have all been written in recent years, approximately from 2008 till 2018.

Analysis

As appears from the literature, three (f)actors can be identified as contributing to the human rights violations and the abusive and exploitative situations Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong find themselves in. In the following paragraphs, these (f)actors will be elaborated, respectively; (a) governmental actors, (b) recruitment agencies and (c) Hong Kong native citizens and employers.

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Governmental and inter-governmental actors

First of all, according to existing literature and research, a political stance would argue that the protection of migrant labour rights is linked to migration policies implemented by governments of both country of origin and destination of migration flows (Piper 2004: 71). As will be illustrated in the following paragraph, studies show that these migration policies can be affected by a supply-demand dynamic (Ruhs and Martin 2008). A study by Ruhs and Martin explains that the bigger the supply of a group of unskilled or low-skilled migrant labourers, the fewer rights they are granted by the government of a receiving country due to subsequent increasing labour costs (ibid.: 254). They argue that ‘’the demand for low-skilled workers is likely to be downward sloping with regards to migrant's rights’’ (ibid.: 254). If there is an unlimited supply of low-skilled migrant labourers or of migrant labourers willing to accept low-skilled jobs (in high-income countries), due to economic pressure, employment conditions will be lower and fewer rights will be granted which in turn, contributes to abuse and exploitation (ibid.).

This is in line with Wickramasekara who likewise presupposes that migration policies being implemented by governments involved are affected by the demand for low-skilled migrants (Wickramasekara 2008). He argues that restrictive migration policies may be the result of a misinterpretation of this particular demand; ‘’[s]uch policies do not reflect actual labour market needs, being built on the myth that the demand is temporary or seasonal’’ (ibid.: 1250). As a result, restrictive immigration policies are being implemented. He goes even further by arguing that there is a policy bias against low-skilled migrants out of fear of permanent settlement (ibid.: 1251). This fear and the subsequent restrictive migration policies and lack of regulations for low skilled workers results in ‘’channelling of large migrant flows to irregular migration, trafficking and smuggling’’ (ibid.: 1252), which in turn, again, contributes to abuses and human rights violations.

In his research, Wickramasekara adopts the trade-off of Ruhs and Martin between numbers and rights, as is explained above, to clarify the denial and violations of (human) rights of low-skilled migrant labourers (ibid.: 1258). However, he critically adds that it is not only the numbers contributing to the lowering of rights of low-skilled migrants, but moreover the political system of a (migrant-receiving) country ‘’[…] which largely determines [the] rights for both national and foreign workers [….]’’ (ibid.: 1258). He argues that the political regime of a country is just as important since employers will nevertheless exploit and abuse migrant labourers (in irregular status), despite the numbers (ibid.).

But how exactly does this work out in the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong? Even though in his research Wickramasekara mainly focusses on the

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migration of low-skilled migrants from developing countries to developed countries, so the relationship between the developed North and developing South and the irregularity of low-skilled migrants, to a certain extent his research seems applicable to the intraregional migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong.

When migrating from the Philippines to Hong Kong, Filipino domestic workers are subject to policies implemented by both the Philippine and Hong Kong government (Constable 2007 [1997]; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016; Varona 2013). Despite its decent labour regulations and as is in line with Wickramasekara, from the literature appears that Hong Kong implements restrictive migration policies when it comes to preventing permanent settlement of Filipino domestic workers (Wickramasekara 2008; Constable 2009; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016; Constable 2007 [1997]). As existing studies show, these restrictive immigration policies are, among others: a visa regime which confines foreign domestic workers exclusively to the sector of domestic work (Cortés and Pan 2013: 328), a denial of the right of abode which prevents foreign domestic workers from becoming a permanent Hong Kong citizen and enjoy corresponding rights and privileges (Constable 2009), the so-called ‘two-week-rule’ which obliges foreign domestic workers to leave Hong Kong within two weeks after termination of contract (Constable 2007 [1997]; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016) and the obligation for domestic workers to both work and reside in the residence of the employer in order to prevent them from ‘’taking on secondary or part-time work and hereby competing with the local domestic workforce’’, the so-called ‘live-in rule’ (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 23). Subsequently, according to a report on the recruitment practices and problems experienced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, the policy-bias against low-skilled migrants Wickramasekara is talking about in his research, expresses itself in the intraregional migratory process from the Philippines to Hong Kong in a systematic exclusion from the protection laws Hong Kong is implementing as part of its apparent decent labour legislations (Varona 2013: 12).

According to this report, underlying this policy-bias is the lack of a bilateral agreement between the Hong Kong and the Philippine governments regarding recruitment practices, abuses and human rights violations (ibid.). It argues that ‘’[t]his is one big gap in the capacity of both governments, individually and jointly, to effectively respond to recruitment problems and abuses’’ (ibid.). This is in line with Nicola Piper, who believes that the absence of a universal human rights treaty within Asia underlies this policy-bias and the subsequent human rights violations and abuses of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong (Piper 2004: 75). She argues that the region’s diversity in political systems can explain the absence of such an

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agreement (ibid.: 74-75). When migrating overseas, Filipino domestic workers move towards a

not yet fully democratic society without a freely elected government (Sing 2006: 530). According to the literature, this negatively influences the protection and promotion of human rights as it conditions a perilous relationship between the Philippines and Hong Kong, who both are responsible for the implementation of protective migrant labour legislations (Bueno de Mesquita et all. 2005: 439-440).

This means that, as appears from the literature reviewed above, governmental actors are of influence on the human rights protection of low-skilled migrant labourers in Hong Kong, among of which are Filipino domestic workers. In fact, it is these governmental actors and Hong Kong’s legal protection of Filipino domestic workers which seem to be underlying the ill-treatments and poor working conditions of these workers. In order to find out if it is the non-democratic character of Hong Kong to blame, or the lack of a bilateral agreement between both the Philippines and Hong Kong, the following mechanism will be tested in the first empirical chapter:

M1: Hong Kong’s legal protection of migrant domestic workers leads to human rights violations and abusive situations.

Recruitment agencies

Playing an indispensable role in the intraregional migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong, recruitment agencies are a second (f)actor being reviewed in playing part in the abuses and human rights violations faced by foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. First of all, the literature shows that recruitment agencies play a divergent role within migratory processes. According to a study by James Tyner, recruitment agencies in particular contribute to the commercialisation of migrants within migration flows (Tyner 1999). He argues that ‘’[…] employment agencies are involved in a sales industry and, to be successful, they must cultivate the buyers’ criteria for the product available’’ (ibid.: 199). In other words, in the demand-driven global labour-market, recruitment agencies are aiming at creating ‘’viable products’’ and be percipient of market demands in order to be as competitive as possible (ibid.: 199-200). This is in line with other studies which argue that recruitment agencies are aiming at imagining and producing the 'good migrant' (Findlay et all. 2013; Tyner 1999). In doing so, labour recruiters retain a considerable amount of power over the migrants and the migrants themselves become vulnerable to exploitation and abuses (Tyner 1999: 194-195). How this power manifests itself will be explained on the basis of literature specifically focusing on Filipino domestic workers

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Within the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong, research shows that the importance of money making for the recruitment agencies, and the subsequent exploitation faced by the Filipino domestic workers are first and foremost expressed in the overcharging of recruitment fees (Constable 2007 [1997]; Sayres 2005; Varona 2013; Martin, Abella and Midgley 2004; Sim 2009). According to Martin, Abella and Midgley, the recruitment costs to the agencies are among the largest expenses of the domestic workers in their migratory process (Martin, Abella and Midgley 2004: 1551). A 2016 service report by the Mission for Migrant workers shows that in 96 percent of the cases, these fees are being heavily overcharged by recruitment agencies (Mission for Migrant Workers 2017).

A research conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers (FADWU) and the Progressive Labor Union of Domestic Workers in Hong Kong (PLU) shows that a great number of Filipino domestic workers has to pay separate agency fees, both to the recruitment agency in the Philippines as well as to the agency in Hong Kong (FADWU 2016). As would be in line with Hong Kong regulations, the fees being charged by the Hong Kong agencies are not allowed to exceed the limit of 10 percent of the first month's wages of the domestic workers. In addition, for Philippine recruitment agencies is a ''zero placement fee'' in force (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 23; Varona 2013). However, statistics show that recruitment costs charged by Hong Kong recruitment agencies, despite the 10 percent-law, on average exceed almost 21 times the legal limit (Varona 2013). The amounts charged by Philippine recruitment agencies, despite the ''zero placement fee-law'', exceeds the legal limit in Hong Kong almost 36 times (ibid.).

In addition, research shows that besides these agency charges, additional costs such as travel costs and lodging/livings costs have to be paid by the domestic worker herself (Varona 2013). These costs will be added to the total costs of the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong and will leave the women in an indebted situation with the recruitment agency (Varona 2013; FADWU 2016; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016). According to existing literature, this indebted situation places domestic workers in a vulnerable position to pressures or abuses from recruiters (and employers) and grants them little bargaining power; ''[the domestic worker] has to pay back the debts within a few months forcing her to accept even grossly unjust terms of work'' (Varona 2013: 25).

Lastly, an offense at the hands of recruitment agencies commonly faced by (Filipino) domestic workers is the confiscation of personal documents, such as passports and bank cards (Varona 2013; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016; FADWU 2016). According to a research

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conducted by the FADWU, agencies confiscate passports of domestic workers in order to maintain control over them (FADWU 2016: 34). Without a passport, domestic workers are in no position to leave a vulnerable job or able to ''prove they have regular immigration status'' (ibid.). Especially when having to deal with an abusive employer, the domestic worker is put in a vulnerable position.

From the above reviewed literature, it appears the illegal practices of the recruitment agencies within the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong are underlying the human rights violations and abuses they face. In order to find out what drives the recruitment agencies in their abusive and exploitative practices, in the second empirical chapter, the following mechanism will be tested and elaborated:

M2: the recruitment agencies’ malpractices are responsible for the human rights violations and

abuses of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong native citizens and employers

Once Filipino domestic workers have arrived in Hong Kong, they are prone to influences, opinions and imaging by Hong Kong native citizens and the press. Among these native citizens are their employers, which may be another possible (f)actor contributing to their abuses and human rights violations, which is why this is the third actor being outlined in this literature review.

As the literature shows, from an economic perspective two questions can be asked regarding low-skilled migrant labourers: are they displacing native workers, or are they filling up economic gaps in the receiving country? (Constable 2013; Hainmueller and Hiscox 2010). Hainmueller and Hiscox argue that negative sentiments towards low-skilled migrant labourers may be the result of ‘’concerns about labour market competition and fears about the fiscal burden on public services’’ (Hainmueller and Hiscox 2010: 62). They explain that with low-skilled immigrants participating in the native labour market, wages of native low-low-skilled workers will fall due to an increasing supply of low-skilled labour by immigration (ibid.). Regarding the fiscal burden on public services they argue that ‘’[i]t is assumed that low-skilled immigrants are a net burden on public finance, whereas highly skilled immigrants are net contributors in terms of taxes (ibid.: 64).

Besides the economic perspective on low-skilled migrant labourers, research shows that social factors, such as cultural and ethnic tensions between natives and (low-skilled) migrants may likewise influence attitudes towards the latter (ibid.: 61). According to a research on the

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determinants of individual attitudes towards immigration, it becomes clear that such negative sentiments may derive from an irrational hatred for non-natives and the perception that migrants are endangering the national identity and the subsequent social norms of a migrant-receiving country, without a fundamental native hatred towards foreigners (O’Rourke and Sinnott 2006: 844). Likewise, the increasing degree of diversity which comes with the arrival of migrants may furthermore negatively affect the attitudes of natives towards immigrants (ibid.).

A study conducted by Hans Ladegaard shows how a negative attitude towards low-skilled migrants, in particular towards foreign domestic workers, expresses itself in Hong Kong. He argues that the abuses and exploitations faced by foreign domestic workers can be explained by a so-called ‘’dehumanisation of foreign domestic helpers in the Hong Kong press and discourse’’ (Ladegaard 2013). He clarifies that foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are being regarded as an anomaly. 'They', the workers, are being represented as opposition to the Hong Kong society, to the so-called 'us' (ibid.: 137). He argues that ''they are the problem, even the threat'' (ibid.). This is in line with Wui and Delias, who argue that foreign domestic workers are being regarded as a threat to and by the local Hong Kong society, and in particular to lower-income Hong Kong citizens, since they are blamed for ''lowering labour standards because of their propensity to take low-paying backbreaking jobs (Eder 2002 in Lopez Wui and Delias 2015: 195). According to local Hong Kong citizens, foreign domestic workers should not be in a position to receive more or better protection and promotion of human rights and labour standards (ibid.).

The negative attitudes and dehumanization Ladegaard is talking about are manifested in the abuses Filipino domestic workers face at the hands of their employers, which are native Hong Kong citizens. According to reports and research, Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong face underpayment, physical and verbal abuse, long working hours and insufficient food and accommodation (Constable 2007 [1997]; Ladegaard 2013: 132; Mission for Migrant Workers 2017). The Hong Kong Justice Centre shows that underlying most of these problems is the so-called ‘live-in rule’ (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 23). The live-in rule first of all leads to a blurring of work and rest time (ibid.). Domestic workers in Hong Kong are allowed a weekly period of 24 hours of continuous rest. However, due to this requirement, domestic workers do not get this full period of rest (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016; Mission for Migrant Workers 2017). According to the 2016 service report by the Mission for Migrant Workers, one out of three domestic workers in Hong Kong is forced to work before she takes her day off (Mission for Migrant Workers 2017).

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Secondly, because Filipino domestic workers are obliged to live in the residence of their employers, the employers need to provide their domestic workers with suitable housing (Mission for Migrant Workers 2017; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016; Sayres 2005). Nonetheless, research shows that a major violation by employers is lack of accommodation or the provision of insufficient accommodation (Sayres 2005: 24; Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016). According to the Hong Kong Justice Centre, even though in the Standard Employment Contract, the employer must submit a description of accommodation, no inspection is undertaken to verify if the provided accommodation actually meets this description (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016). In 2016, Mission for Migrant Workers found that two out of five domestic workers in Hong Kong do not have their own private room but have to sleep in alternative arrangements (Mission for Migrant Workers 2017).

Resultingly, this means that, as appears from the above reviewed literature, Hong Kong native citizens and employers actually play a crucial role in the violations and abuses faced by the Filipino domestic workers. In order to find out what is driving this last (f)actor in their contribution to the ill-treatments, the following mechanism will be tested and elaborated in the third empirical chapter:

M3: the mistreatments and malpractices by native Hong Kong citizens and employers are

underlying the poor working environment of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Methodology

This research is based on a qualitative analysis of mechanisms and actors contributing to and influencing human rights violations and abuses of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. Using the most commonly used method in qualitative research, empirical data is acquired by conducting interviews (Bryman 2012 [2001]: 469). In particular, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with interviewees involved in and concerned with the human rights protection of Filipino domestic workers before, within and after their migratory process to Hong Kong. In addition, non-governmental policy reports, academic literature and Hong Kong migration laws and policies have been analysed and used in order to contextualize the via the interviews acquired data.

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As this research seeks to understand why Filipino domestic workers are facing severe abuses and human rights violations while working and residing in Hong Kong, and which actors are underlying the mechanisms contributing to these maltreatments, interviewees have been primarily chosen in light of their contribution to the protection of Filipino domestic workers, as it turned out actors actively contributing to the abuses and human rights violations were difficult, if not impossible to reach. This resulted in interviews being conducted with a representative of a human rights consultancy, representatives of socially responsible recruitment agencies, a professor researching the lives and stories of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong and a former (Western) au-pair.

The first interview being conducted is with Julie Delignon, at the time of the interview, country manager of the socially responsible recruitment agency HelperChoice. In aiming to research the practices and role of recruitment agencies in the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong, several recruitment agencies had been contacted. As it turned out impossible to get in touch with so-called unethical recruitment agencies, socially responsible agencies have subsequently been contacted, among of which is HelperChoice. During the interview, the main focus is, on the one hand, on the abusive practices of unethical recruitment agencies, and on the other hand, on the emergence and practices of socially responsible agencies. As Delignon during the interview represents a company within a competitive field of practice, potential subjectivity should be taken into account.

The second interview being conducted is with Robert Godden from Rights Exposure. Being a human rights consultancy led by a team of human rights and communication professionals, this interview aimed to obtain context and broader information on the abuses and human rights violations faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. In order to gain insights on these human rights violations from a more scientific perspective, and subsequently to place the already obtained information in scientific context, the third interview has been conducted with Hans Ladegaard, a professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Having done research on the lives and stories of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong for a substantial amount of years and having published its comprehensive results, Ladegaard was able to scientifically justify the already obtained data and additionally, to provide interesting insights.

The fourth interview being conducted is with Grace Cheng, a recruitment manager at

Fair Employment Agency, another socially responsible recruitment agency. Unfortunately, no

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already had been conducted with a similar agency and furthermore, and secondly it appeared difficult to receive substantial answers as miscommunication was a problem. This is why no data from this interview is represented in this thesis.7 The fifth and final interview being conducted is with Zoey de Boer, a Dutch university student and former au-pair in the United Kingdom. As the purpose of this interview is to be able to place the human rights violations of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong in a global context, this interview focusses on the personal experiences of the interviewee while working as an au-pair in the UK. Questions being asked in this interview were derived from the human rights violations and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong and focused on the provision of sufficient accommodation, privacy and statutory days off.

As the conducted interviews are semi-structured, questions did not always follow in accordance with the interview guide, which differed per interviewee depending on their position in the protection of the Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, and subsequently led to a flexible interview process (ibid.: 471). In general, the questions being asked in the interviews followed from recurrent themes identified in the academic articles and non-governmental policy reports being analysed beforehand. As it was impossible to travel to Hong Kong and conduct the interviews in person within a timeframe of three months, Skype has served as an alternative. Even though this enabled researcher and interviewees to talk in-depth about the subject, several limitations have occurred.

First of all, except for the former au-pair Zoey de Boer, all of the respondents are located in Hong Kong. As the research has been conducted from the Netherlands, this resulted in the long-distance internet connection occasionally experiencing malfunctioning, which in turn in some occasions led to (minor) miscommunication. Furthermore, in one occasion, the internet connection was completely uncooperative which forced the interview with Hans Ladegaard to be conducted over a phone call. In addition, due to the lack of nonverbals in a Skype-interview, ambiguity arose regarding mutual understanding and who was talking at what moment. Lastly, where in a face-to-face interview rapport can be established based on, for instance, facial expressions and good eye contact, Skype had a limiting function (Bryman 2012 [2001]: 218). This limiting function was absent in the fifth, face-to-face interview with Zoey de Boer. In this interview rapport was first of all easily build through eye contact and visual cues of friendliness (ibid.), and furthermore by shared interests between interviewee and researcher. However, a limitation that did occur was the ambient noise of the venue where the interview was held.

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20 Literature and definitions

As previously mentioned, non-governmental policy reports, academic literature and Hong Kong migration laws and policies have been analysed and used in order to contextualize the via the interviews acquired data. In addition, newspaper articles have been used in order to be aware of the latest updates regarding Hong Kong policies and recruitment practices. In order to obtain the appropriate academic literature, Google Scholar and Web of Science have served as the main search engines. In addition, bibliographies of relevant authors served as a useful source to obtain further significant academic articles.

Within the literature, different terminologies for Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong can be found, among of which are; Foreign Domestic Helper (FDH), Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) and even housemaid or au-pair. Even though the Hong Kong government, media and society prefer to use the term Foreign Domestic Helpers, in this thesis these women are specifically referred to as Foreign Domestic Workers, as the term ‘worker’ grants the women the recognition of actually being workers with workers’ rights and protection (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 21). Using a definition by the International Labour Organization, in this research domestic workers are being defined as ‘’any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship’’, wherein subsequently domestic work is being defined as ‘’work performed in or for a household or households’’ (International Labour Office 2013).

Chapter one: government protection of Filipino domestic workers

Being commonly considered ‘’an oasis of human rights in the region’’ and being one of the richest countries of Asia with decent labour regulations and a relatively high minimum wage, Hong Kong appears to be a ‘dream destination’ for overseas domestic workers (International Labour Organization 2012). However, as a report by the Justice Centre Hong Kong makes clear, in 2016, around 95 percent of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong showed signs of exploitation and abuses (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016). In order to find out if the Hong Kong government and its labour regulations can be blamed for the poor working environment of Filipino domestic workers, in this chapter the following mechanism will be tested:

M1: Hong Kong’s legal protection of migrant domestic workers leads to human rights

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21 Hong Kong’s political system

In order to be able to look into Hong Kong’s migrant labour legislations and protection, there is first of all need to shortly outline Hong Kong’s political system. When in 1997 Britain handed Hong Kong over to China, Hong Kong became part of the so-called ‘one country, two systems’-rule (The Economist 2017). By this systems’-rule, communist mainland China and capitalist Hong Kong reconciled, but Hong Kong remained a distinct area. An article by The Economist clarifies this distinctiveness by explaining that ‘’mainland China is responsible for [the] defence and foreign affairs, but Hong Kong runs its own internal security’’ (ibid.). In addition, the Chinese government cannot interfere in Hong Kong’s avocations and ‘’[f]reedom of speech, press, religion and protest are all defended by [Hong Kong] law’’ (ibid.). Even though in the article it is argued that Hong Kong is the most politically unrestrained area of China, this does not mean that it is yet fully democratic (The Economist 2017; Sing 2006).

According to the Freedom House, Hong Kong can be considered as being ‘partly free’.8 They argue that ‘’[t]he people of Hong Kong, […], have traditionally enjoyed substantial civil liberties and the rule of law under their local constitution, the Basic Law’’.9_However, governmental pro-Beijing interests and political and economic pressures from mainland China are threatening these freedoms.10 According to an Amnesty International report, in 2016, ‘’rule of law, freedom of speech and trust in government all deteriorated’’ (Haas 2017). Even though the handover of Hong Kong to China by Britain and the subsequent ‘one country, two systems’-rule have been positively influencing these freedoms, with Beijing asserting its domination and authority over Hong Kong since 2016, these freedoms and Hong Kong’s distinctiveness are endangered, just as pro-democracy movements (The Economist 2017; Haas 2017).

Having lost crucial seats in the parliament with the recent semi-democratic elections last March, the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong suffers heavily under pro-Beijing pressures (Haas 2018). According to the Freedom House, this results in a further extermination of local self-determination in Hong Kong, and hereby in a loss of the freedoms Hong Kong citizens have been enjoying in recent years which are established in the Hong Kong Basic Law, such as freedom of speech, press, religion and protest.11 As the Amnesty International report shows, attacks on journalists by police and abductions of China-critics are evidence of this

8_{Freedom House. See https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/hong-kong. Consulted on}

10/05/2018.

9_Ibid. 10_Ibid.

11_{Freedom House. See https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/hong-kong. Consulted on}

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worsening human rights situation (Haas 2017). Since Hong Kong in 2016 employed a substantial number of foreign domestic workers (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department 2017a: 250), the worsening human rights situation may correspondingly be affecting this group.

In order to find out if it actually is the legal protection, or lack of legal protection by the Hong Kong government which is underlying the human rights violations and ill-treatment of Filipino domestic workers, Hong Kong rights regulations, protection and restrictions regarding foreign domestic workers will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Restrictive Hong Kong regulations

Within the Hong Kong migrant labour legislations, a distinction can be made between so-called restrictive and protective policies. In an interview with Robert Godden from Rights Exposure, a human rights consultancy in Hong Kong concerned with providing consultancy services to non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, governments, trade unions, communities and social enterprises, it becomes clear that first of all one of the most unsettling restrictive policies being implemented by the Hong Kong government is the two-week-rule. According to this rule, foreign domestic workers are obligated to leave Hong Kong within two weeks after termination of contract (Constable 2007 [1997]: 145-148). Robert Godden argues that ‘’the two-week-rule has to be addressed, specifically in their [the foreign domestic workers’] ability to work’’ (Godden 2018). He argues that when foreign domestic workers are subject to abuses and exploitation by their employer, this rule prevents them from bringing a case against them at the Labour Tribunal, because, ‘’when you bring a case, you go to

conciliation’’ (ibid.). The process of conciliation, which proceeds several weeks, consists of

neutral, independent parties trying to aid the domestic worker in working out differences with the (abusive) employer, and subsequently, come to a mutual agreement. After an agreement is met, the case will be taken to the Labour Tribunal, which may take another three to six months. During this period, foreign domestic workers are unemployed, they are not allowed to work. Only when the agreement is accepted by the Labour Tribunal, the foreign domestic worker may apply to immigration for an exemption to work again (ibid.). Godden explains that this period of unemployment means no income for the domestic workers, which in turn means no remittances to send home to their families. This may prevent domestic workers from making a case against their abusive employers and instead, accept and tolerate their abusive situation (ibid.).

This is in line with what Hans Ladegaard, Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and researcher of the lives and stories of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong,

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illustrated when being asked what must change in order for the current situation of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong to improve. He explains that;

There are particularly two laws in Hong Kong that make it very difficult for migrant domestic workers to improve their situation, particularly in relation to abuse-issues. So if they have an abusive employer, or if the employer does not respect the migrant workers’ law, it is very difficult for them to do anything about it because it means essentially losing their jobs, and if they lose their job, we have the two-week-rule. This rule says that if the domestic worker does not have a job, she needs to be out of Hong Kong within two weeks. That two-week-rule has been a consistent obstacle for domestic workers that has made them stay with abusive employers much longer than they should, because they want to complete their contract (Ladegaard 2018).

He continues by explaining that completing the contract is of great importance for the foreign domestic workers because finding a new employer within two weeks is virtually impossible. This would not only mean they would have to leave Hong Kong and go back to their home country but furthermore that they are liable to deportation and even imprisonment (ibid.).

Another restriction implemented by the Hong Kong government, and which is conditioned by the two-week-rule, is the denial of the right of abode. As explained before, this rule prevents foreign domestic workers from becoming permanent Hong Kong citizens and enjoy subsequent rights and privileges (Constable 2009). According to Hong Kong regulations and as Hans Ladegaard explains in the interview, in order to apply for permanent citizenship in Hong Kong, one must have been residing in the former British colony for a period of at least seven years (ibid.).12 However, the two-week-rule makes it impossible for foreign domestic workers to work and reside in Hong Kong for a period longer than two years, and subsequently, to qualify for the right of abode (Ladegaard 2018).

The second law which Ladegaard is talking about in the interview, as quoted above, is the so-called live-in requirement (ibid.). Even though according to Robert Godden, this law does condition a merging of private and work life of domestic workers, he believes that it does not need immediate attention in order to reduce the number of abuses and improve the situation of the Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong (Godden 2018). Ladegaard on the other hand, believes that this requirement actively contributes to the abuses and human rights violations of

12_{Immigration Department Hong Kong. See https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/roa/eligible.html. Consulted}

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the workers (Ladegaard 2018). The live-in rule requires foreign domestic workers to live with their employers and be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week, and their lives mostly take place behind closed doors in a private sphere. According to Ladegaard, the live-in requirement this way satisfies two conditions which need to be met in order for people to become abusive: unlimited power and anonymity, as is originally explained by Zimbardo with his Stanford prison experiment (ibid.). Ladegaard explains that ‘’if you give one person

unlimited power over another human being, and you grant them the opportunity to be unanimous, most people will become abusive’’ (ibid.). While living in the private space of the

employer, the domestic worker is completely subjected to the unlimited power of the employer. As Ladegaard mentions;

The employer knows that the domestic worker is weak and vulnerable, and financially needs the money to support her family. So this calls for a situation of a very unequal distribution of power between the employer and the domestic worker, which can be exploited by the employer who knows that somebody completely depends on you […]

(ibid.).

Not only does this power expresses itself in a way that the domestic worker depends on the employer, living in the private space of the employer adds another criticality which concerns the second condition Ladegaard is talking about, the condition of anonymity. According to Ladegaard, the employers enjoy complete anonymity ‘’because the abuse always happens

inside the employer’s home, with usually only the female employer and the domestic worker present’’ (ibid.). This means that what happens inside the home, stays inside the home.

Even though the two-week-rule and the live-in requirement are two major restrictive policies which, each in their own way, contribute to the human rights violations faced by Filipino domestic workers, these are not the only policies in place regarding foreign domestic workers. Besides these restrictive policies, Hong Kong, as where the city is known for, likewise implements protective policies, or at least it does on paper.

Protective Hong Kong regulations

Since Hong Kong, at least on paper, appears to be a foreign domestic workers’ paradise (Ladegaard 2013) and an ‘’oasis of human rights’’ (International Labour Organization 2012), the city must have policies in place in order to be considered as such. This means that besides

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the above described restrictive regulations, the Hong Kong government on the other hand implements statutory policies in order to protect its foreign domestic workers.

First of all, one such policy is the Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW). As said before, this MAW is currently set at 4,410 Hong Kong dollars a month, which is a lot higher than in most countries where sometimes no MAW is set at all.13 Furthermore, Hong Kong has a formal temporary labour scheme which guarantees a minimum 24-hours rest period a week, twelve statutory holidays a year, paid annual leave after having served a period of twelve months, a certain amount of paid sick leave days and parental leave and protection (Justice Centre Hong Kong 2016: 13-22). In addition, Hong Kong employers are obligated to provide sufficient accommodation, travel allowance and a monthly Minimum Food Allowance (MFA) to their foreign domestic workers (ibid.). Likewise, regarding agencies fees, Hong Kong recruitment agencies are not allowed to charge more than 10 percent of the workers first month’s wages (ibid.: 21).

Even though these policies indeed substantiate Hong Kong’s reputation of being ‘’one of the best places in the region to work as a MDW [migrant domestic worker]’’ (ibid.), statistics and stories of Filipino domestic workers working and residing in Hong Kong show that these protective policies are often not respected by on the one hand, the Hong Kong government, and on the other hand, as will be elaborated later on, by recruitment agencies and employers. How can this be clarified? As both Godden and Ladegaard explain in the interviews, there is certainly nothing wrong with the labour laws and human rights protection of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong and it is not surprising these laws are attractive to foreign domestic working coming from overseas, but it is actually the implementation of these regulations which is problematic (Godden 2018; Ladegaard 2018). Ladegaard argues that; ‘’the problem is that

nobody in Hong Kong is enforcing the law, even though the rules are in the worker’s contract’’

(Ladegaard 2018). Subsequently, Robert Godden explains that; ‘’the labour laws and human

rights protection aren’t that bad. Implementation is a problem’’ (Godden 2018). But how

exactly can this lack of implementation of regulations by the Hong Kong government be explained? Why are the restrictive policies being actively complied with and the protective policies are being attenuated? In other words, what is underlying this lack of legal protection by the Hong Kong government?

13_{See https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/employment/recruitment/foreigndomestichelper.htm. Consulted on}

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26 Non-democracy and migration policies

Now that is established and elaborated which restrictive legislations regarding foreign domestic workers are actively enforced and which protective mechanisms are lacking implementation by the Hong Kong government, in the following section the question will be asked what is underlying this shortfall in enforcement.

According to Nicola Piper, labour migration policies within Asia are characterized by mainly having a restrictive and limiting effect on migration. She argues that the policies being enforced by receiving Asian countries not only have a hindering effect on labour migration in itself, but furthermore on the duration of migration and the integration of migrants (Piper 2004: 75). It must be noted that these restrictions are only and specifically in place for lower-skilled migrants. Highly skilled or professional migrants in Asia are encouraged a prolonged stay due to the enforcement of a ‘’legal permit system on a long term-basis’’ (ibid.: 78). Nonetheless, the limitations and subsequent abuses and human rights violations faced by low-skilled migrants can, according to Piper, partly be explained by the fact that within Asia, no international means are in place to oversee the implementation of protective legislations. She specifically argues that the abuses and exploitations faced by unskilled or lower-skilled labourers migrating intraregional within Asia can be blamed on the fact that ‘’[…] Asia is the only region without a specific human rights treaty and without some form of region-wide mechanism’’ (ibid.: 75).

An important and ground-breaking universal human rights treaty concerned with the protection of migrant labour rights, which faces lack of enforcement and implementation, is the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMR) (Piper 2004). After a denial of labour migrants rights for decades, the ratification of the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is characterized as ‘’one of the seven fundamental human rights instruments that define basic, universal human rights and ensure explicit extension to vulnerable groups worldwide’’ (United Nations 2000 in Taran 2001: 17). However, even though ground-breaking because ‘’the full application of the human rights law is clarified to migrant workers and is providing a more detailed definition of who constitutes a migrant worker’’ (Taran 2001 in Piper 2004: 81), ratification of the Convention lacks progress on adoption and implementation. After it was adopted by the United Nations in 1990, only sixteen governments ratified the Convention in the following years (Taran 2001: 18). Due to a lack of promotion by UN institutions and governments concerned, only thirteen years later, in

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2003, the Convention finally entered into force when the threshold of twenty states having ratified the Convention was reached (ibid.).

As of today, the Convention is ratified by 51 countries.14 Among these countries, not a single European country is represented, which is surprising since, according to Piper, European governments tend to be significant supporters of the enforcement and adoption of international human rights treaties (Piper 2004: 80). In addition, only four countries which have ratified the Convention are located in Southeast and East-Asia, among one of which is the Philippines.15. According to Taran, a lack of political will by governments ‘’to extend basic human rights protections to all migrants’’ is to blame for the non-enforcement of such international human rights treaties like the ICMR (Taran 2001: 22). However, Piper on the other hand argues that underlying this absence of a universal human rights treaty is Asia’s diversity in political systems (ibid.).

When moving overseas, Filipino domestic workers leave behind a country under a democratic, though corrupt government and move towards a not yet fully democratic country (Sing 2006; Trouw 2016). This diversity in political systems negatively influences the protection of the migrant labour rights of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, as it makes the relationship between both countries precarious. Piper explains that the protection of the migrant labour rights of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong is linked to policies being implemented by governments of both countries (Piper 2004: 71), wherein Hong Kong, the migrant-receiving country, has ‘’more power to dictate the terms and conditions of employment, as well as the terms and conditions of immigration’’ (ibid.: 82). Nonetheless, a bilateral agreement regarding these terms and conditions between both the Philippines and Hong Kong to protect Filipino domestic workers from abuses, is utterly absent (Varona 2013: 12). Varona explains in a report on recruitment practices and abuses faced by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong that ‘’[d]espite the urgent need, and notwithstanding the prescription in various ILO (International Labour Organization) conventions for such bilateral agreements to protect DWs from abuses’’, no such arrangement has so far been agreed upon (ibid.). Resultingly, Filipino domestic workers are subject to a policy-bias in which they are systematically being excluded from protective labour laws implemented by the Hong Kong government (Varona 2003: 12).

14_{United Nations Treaty Collection. See}

https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-13&chapter=4&lang=en. Consulted on 21/05/2018.

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Even though the Philippines seems to be willing to adhere to a bilateral agreement with Hong Kong, as it has shown by having ratified the ICMR and as it furthermore is the only country within Southeast Asia which has ratified the 2011 Domestic Workers Convention which is concerned with decent work and regulations for domestic workers, such a bilateral agreement can only be realized and enforced when both country of origin and destination are willing to ratify it (Piper 2004: 73-74).16 As Hong Kong is the country of destination within the migratory process of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong, and hereby has more power regarding the terms and conditions of immigration, it can indeed be assumed that the non-democratic character of the country partly influences and contributes to the abuses and human rights violations faced by Filipino domestic workers as it contributes to Asia’s diversity in political systems, and subsequently to the absence of a universal human rights treaty and a bilateral agreement between both countries.

On the other hand however, it appears that the non-democratic character of Hong Kong furthermore in itself negatively influences the implementation of protective labour migration laws by the Hong Kong government. According to Bueno de Mesquita et all,. in order for human rights to be fully respected and improved, a ‘’full-fledged democracy’’ is required, since democracy is significant in the promotion of respect for human rights (Bueno de Mesquita et

all. 2005: 439-440). First and foremost, they argue that a ‘’full-fledged democracy’’ consists of

multiparty competition and executive constraints, which ensures that the protection of human rights and ‘’personal integrity rights’’ is enhanced due to a political system based on competitiveness (ibid.: 450). Multiparty competition and competitiveness not only emphasize a division of power which prevents one person from becoming too powerful, it furthermore makes it too expensive and tricky for political parties and leaders to become abusive and coercive as it endangers their position in political elections (ibid.: 442). Furthermore, the importance of multiparty competition and competitiveness is shown by and in line with the current Hong Kong political system and the changes it is recently experiencing since, as previously mentioned, increasing pro-Beijing interests and political pressures from mainland China, which is an authoritarian state with a pragmatic approach to democracy and which is ruled according a communist one-party system (Zhao 2010), are endangering Hong Kong pro-democracy movements, Hong Kong’s distinctiveness and its respect for human rights (Haas

16_{International Labour Organization. See}

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C189. Consulted on 21/05/2018.

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2017). This means that since pro-Beijing political influences are exerting pressure on Hong Kong, human rights have been deteriorating (ibid.).

In addition, Bueno de Mesquita et all. argue that ‘’accountability appears to be a critical feature that makes full-fledged democracies respect human rights; limited accountability generally retards improvement in human rights’’ (Bueno de Mesquita et all. 2005: 439). Accountability as part of democratic systems prevents abusive leaders and governments to become a serious threat to a country, since its citizens are in a position to oust such governments (ibid.). However, as Hong Kong is considered to be only ‘partly free’, Hong Kong citizens do not have such influence on their government and on current pro-Beijing pressures, which in turn may explain the loss of faith in their government (Haas 2017). Furthermore, the minority group which probably faces the worst abuses and human rights violations in Hong Kong, foreign domestic workers, are not even considered as being Hong Kong citizens as their right of abode is being denied. This means that this minority group is even less influential than Hong Kong citizens, which may explain the lack of implementation of protective migrant labour laws.

Thus, in itself, Hong Kong’s non-democratic character allows pro-Beijing pressures to affect Hong Kong’s political system and its distinctiveness, and thereby results in a contempt and deterioration of human rights. In addition, the Hong Kong government is less accountable for its decisions, which grants them the opportunity to lack in implementing protective migrant labour laws. Furthermore, the non-democratic character of Hong Kong contributes to a diversity in political systems within Asia, which in turn prevents international means such as a universal human rights treaty, to be in place and oversee the implementation of protective legislations. This means that the legal protection of migrant domestic workers, or actually the lack of legal protection, indeed leads to human rights violations and abusive situations. Strikingly, it appears this lack of legal protection furthermore easily leads to abuses by other (f)actors, such as recruitment agencies and native Hong Kong citizens and employers.

Chapter two: recruiting Filipino domestic workers

In order for Filipino women to move overseas and become a foreign domestic worker in Hong Kong, recruitment agencies are an indispensable actor in their migratory process. Taking care of the necessary paperwork and linking Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong employers, recruitment agencies seem to serve as the ‘perfect’ intermediary. However, reality shows otherwise. Studies reveal that more than 70 percent of the agencies are engaging in illegal and