PathFinders, a charity supporting migrant workers and their Hong Kong-born children, is calling on pregnant domestic helpers to seek help after an Indonesian woman was arrested last week when she delivered a baby that died in her employer’s bathroom.
Although it is a universal human right for women to reproduce and Hong Kong’s maternity and pregnancy laws are equal for all, PathFinders says it has seen many unlawful and inhumane situations when it comes to the treatment of pregnant foreign domestic workers in the territory.
PathFinders’ CEO Kay McArdle commented, “The issues affecting Hong Kong’s pregnant foreign domestic workers and their babies who are born here can be extremely complex and difficult to unravel.”
Issues may include filing the necessary paperwork like employment, immigration, insurance or birth registration, and discrimination, such as when employers fire pregnant workers, which is a criminal offence.
PathFinders encourages foreign workers and employers alike to seek medical, legal and personal advice by calling the Labour Department on (+852) 2717-1771 or PathFinders’ hotline on (+852) 5190-4886 for support.
Photo: Pixabay
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