Coronavirus: crowded dorms putting domestic helpers at risk of infection, advocates say, as second worker confirmed positive
- Domestic helpers often have no choice but to stay in packed facilities when between jobs and while awaiting visas
- But the conditions create the possibility of outbreaks, workers’ rights groups say, as a second woman who stayed in one such dorm was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus
Sringatin, a spokeswoman for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said the Hong Kong government and countries that send domestic workers to the city were equally guilty of neglecting their responsibility to provide decent accommodation for domestic workers recruited by agencies.
She blamed the agents for being more concerned with profits than service.
“Stop depicting migrant domestic workers as Covid-19 spreaders,” she added, noting that the hundreds of thousands of migrant domestic workers in the city had been made scapegoats amid Hong Kong’s ongoing third wave of coronavirus infections.
Sringatin, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name, noted that the Immigration Department typically takes four to six weeks to approve visas for domestic workers, but may take as long as three months in some cases. During this time, domestic workers have to shoulder the cost of living in often-overcrowded boarding houses arranged by employment agencies.
