They’ve suffered through ethnic strife, civil war and decades of military rule, but it seems working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong is too much for the people of Myanmar to be expected to endure. That says it all really, doesn’t it?
Myanmar has temporarily put a ban on its women becoming domestic workers in Hong Kong and Singapore due to complaints of employers abusing and exploiting their maids.
According to SCMP, the former military-ruled state – which has only been allowing its residents to work as domestic helpers abroad since last year – announced this weekend that the ban will be in place until an agreement is reached about workers’ rights and salaries in Singapore.
An official from the country’s Labour Ministry also confirmed that permits for those wanting to become domestic workers in Hong Kong will be suspended until further notice.
Hong Kong received its first batch of Myanmese helpers earlier this year, welcomed by employment agencies dealing with the mass exodus of Filipino and Indonesia workers, leaving for better paid jobs elsewhere.
Conditions for migrant workers in Hong Kong have come under global scrutiny since the case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih – a Indonesian maid who allegedly suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her Hong Kong employers – shocked the world earlier this year.
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