30pc domestic helpers dismissed illegally due to health issues: union

About 30 percent of domestic workers suffering from severe illness have been illegally dismissed in the past five years, according to Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Union (FADWU) and Filipino Migrants Cancer Support Society Hong Kong (FilMCaSS-HK).

They call for strengthened education and law enforcement to protect foreign domestic workers' labor rights.

The union has received 195 cases of foreign domestic helpers diagnosed with cancer or other severe illness since 2020.

Among them, 67 were able to continue working and remain in the city for treatment, whereas 52 passed away, 42 returned to the Philippines, and 34 lost contact.

Additionally, only 10 percent of workers who were kept on the job received full support from their employers for medical expenses, while 45 percent received no aid.

The union advocates for foreign domestic helpers to remain eligible for treatment in public hospitals during the claim process.

Long complaint progress for dismissed foreign domestic helpers

Mary Ann, a domestic worker, shared her sister Bady Jane Alas' experience through a video, revealing that Bady Jane Alas returned to the Philippines after being unlawfully terminated in 2019.

Despite filing a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), Mary Ann stated that her sister could not wait for the decision and died in 2020, expressing hope to receive the result after six years of investigation to allow the family to move forward. 

The union stated although there is a law prohibiting employers from dismissing ill employees, foreign workers often face barriers to seeking medical care due to visa restrictions and high medical costs during the lengthy complaints processes with the Labour Department or the EOC, forcing them to return to their home country, with some succumbing before receiving the resolutions.