HDH is a St John's Cathedral pastoral outreach venture catering to the special needs of Hong Kong's foreign domestic helper (FDH) community. FDHs are predominantly women and now number well over 100,000. They come from a variety of South East Asian countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, but the vast majority are Filipinos. Filipino FDHs form a very substantial part of the Cathedral's own congregation.

Helpers for Domestic Helpers was established under the auspices of St John's Cathedral by a group of lawyers in the congregation who were concerned about the plight of FDHs. It offers advice and assistance to FDHs regardless of their nationality or religious affiliations. Its services are provided completely free of charge.

The organisation's work focuses mainly on employment and immigration problems. Terminated helpers are assisted in making labour claims and pursuing them through the processed of conciliation and adjudication in the relevant tribunals and courts. Much of the organisation's efforts are devoted to persuading the Immigration Department to allow a terminated helper to take up new employment where permission to do so has been initially refused.

The work is conducted by a small full time staff assisted by voluntary "helpers" amongst whom are a number of practising lawyers. In cases where such assistance is desirable, and so far as resources permit, clients may be accompanied by "helpers" at labour conciliation meetings, court hearings and visits to the Immigration Department.

Details of HDH's services:

The HDH office, located in the Cathedral precincts, is open for consultations with clients Monday to Friday from 9.00am-5 pm and on Sundays from 11.00am-2.00pm.

Tel: 2523 4020

Enquiries are invited from anyone interested in contributing their voluntary services as 'helpers" to the work of the organisation on a part-time basis. Some legal knowledge and experience is an advantage but not essential.   

FDHs are allowed to live and work in Hong Kong under a special scheme operated by Immigration Department for the importation of domestic labour. It subjects FDHs to extremely restrictive visa conditions which mean that an FDH must not engage in any kind of non-domestic employment and cannot change employers without the approval of the Immigration Department.

Employment contracts, whose terms and conditions are prescribed by the Government, are nominally of 2 years' duration. But if the employment is prematurely terminated by either party then the FDH is prima facie required to return to her country of origin within 14 days. Change of employment will not be permitted unless the FDH can (a) quickly identify another person prepared to employ her in a domestic capacity, and (b) she can persuade the Immigration Department that the circumstances of her termination were such as to merit "special consideration"

This so-called "14-day rule" tends to work very unfairly and is the cause of considerable hardship for FDHs. Whilst the Immigration Department will grant extensions of stay to enable a FDH to pursue legal proceedings against an employer for claims arising out of the employment contract she is not normally permitted to work to support herself whilst those proceedings are in progress. When they are concluded she may still be required to return to her country of origin without the chance to take up new employment.

Exploitation of FDHs is widespread. They may find themselves the victims both of the rapacity of the employment agencies which recruit them and of unscrupulous employers who force them to undertake non-domestic work in offices, restaurants and factories. Contracts are frequently terminated for the flimsiest reasons, often late at night and the helper simply put out on the street.

Immigration controls are enforced with great rigour, which means that FDHs are vulnerable to finding themselves before the criminal courts on charges of overstaying their visas or working in unapproved employments. Sentences can be severe. As a result, a substantial proportion of the female population of Hong Kong's prisons consists of FDHs.

It will be apparent from this brief account that FDHs encounter serious problems as a result of the very stringent immigration regime affecting them and because of the employment disputes which frequently arise. However, as low earners they are seldom in a position to pay for the services of a lawyer and yet are frequently in need of legal advice and assistance.