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Disgusting"ad" for Domestic Helpers.

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    The answer is that no it is not only locals who are bad employers. But by far the majority of bad employers are local even allowing for numbers.
    So why not just say that in the first place?

    When you say "by far the majority", any data on that claim?

    Glad though that we are in agreement that this is not yet another exclusive "ignorant locals" problem.

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisX:
    So why not just say that in the first place?

    When you say "by far the majority", any data on that claim?

    Glad though that we are in agreement that this is not yet another exclusive "ignorant locals" problem.
    Just mostly

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisX:
    Is it only locals who treat their helpers poorly? Expats immune from this? if so, please explain why...
    I cant speak for DH, but from my own personal work/office experience, I find local HKers are a nightmare to work for lol.

    I can only imagine how much worse it is at "home".

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by D.YU:
    50sqft minimum for a maid? That is a lot better than a lot of local's living condition. Many people in HK live in space pods/cages. Not to mention they need to pay rent for these shithole cages.

    If HK gov doesnt care about poor citizens living conditions, you think they will GAF about DH?
    Presumably that was rhetorical question, though either way not sure why you're asking me.

    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisX:
    So why not just say that in the first place?

    When you say "by far the majority", any data on that claim?

    Glad though that we are in agreement that this is not yet another exclusive "ignorant locals" problem.
    I haven't been online much recently, but are you normally this defensive?

    It's pretty common knowledge that helpers have a preference for Western employers. This doesn't make all Western employers somehow 'better' but the average is skewed in that direction.

    Personally I know both foreign and local employers who are pretty terrible. And the highest paid helpers I know work for a local employer.

    Obviously there is no hard and fast data, because nobody collects and quantifies this, but had you ever spoken to helpers, this would be pretty blindingly obvious. Kind of makes me wonder though whether you have ever spoken to any helpers whatsoever.
    Last edited by jgl; 24-05-2021 at 06:27 PM.
    angeluscomplex and Flapster like this.

  5. #35

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    I think by the fact that expats that come here have a much higher average salary than locals is the major factor why DH are treated better (on avg) in the expat community. I dont believe for a second that local people are worse than expats or something like that on how to treat other humans in general. Its just that if you are poor and miserable yourself the step to let a DH sleep in the kitchen etc is much smaller than if you actually have a spare bedroom in your large flat.

    bdw, FrancisX, Flapster and 1 others like this.

  6. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    Just mostly
    The plural of anecdote is not data

    (Thanks @East_coast for that soundbite)

  7. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    I've never seen an official figure, but have been told by an agent that it should be 50 square feet otherwise the application might be rejected by Immigration.

    No idea how this really works, considering that visas are also granted in situations where the helper shares a room with a child, which is extremely common.
    When you adopt a dog from a shelter the staff will visit your home to make sure you have suitable living conditions, Immigration doesn't.
    angeluscomplex likes this.

  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by GentleGeorge:
    The plural of anecdote is not data

    (Thanks @East_coast for that soundbite)

    And that does not counter my point.

    There are seriously excellent helpers, as in unbelievably great, and there are terrible and abusive employers. Locals tend to.be overrepresented in the latter group in my experience. I hate to say this but it is partly down to racism. If you consider Filipinos to be a subspecies then it is easier to treat them badly.

  9. #39

    If you are disgusted by this, then you should google images " sub divided flats" hong kong and go visit public housing.

    The problem is that HK flats are some of the worse designed flats with no space at all and everyone is living on top of each other.

    Also, most HK people all double up and share the rooms..there is no helper room.There is no spare room.

    For those who say that locals should clean there own home, not eveyone hires a helper for that reason. Some elderly people need a helper to look after them full time while the family members go to work.
    There is a shortage of elderly care beds in the public sector, and elderly care homes cost an arm and a leg in the private sector.

    I know this because 10 years ago I looked into private care for my grandma. I was so shocked. They wanted to charge $8,500 a month (10 years ago) for a bed ( a bed) in an open room with 40 other male and female geriatrics. It was filthy, disgusting, and was like a concentration camp watching all the elderly folk lying there waiting to die. It is not the rosy old people's homes that you see in the west. If they get a partition that is a luxury.

    So I think that classifying "storeroom" as a helper's room is joke but have you seen a "master room" in a typical 550 sf room..it only fits a bed and a wardrobe. So that photo of the room is awful if it for a luxury apartment. But if it were for public housing then it would be a luxury.

    And a lot of helpers have to share rooms with kids, or elderly people which is not ideal. Some helpers have to sleep in the living room. Don't put it down to HK people always being mean to the helpers (although some are ) but they do not have the space, they do not have the welfare state. Blame the property developers for the rubbish that is built. We do not have a shortage of land.

    FrancisX, ramelec, z754103 and 1 others like this.

  10. #40

    But I also think that for the application for the domestic helper, it should be mandatory for the employer to show a photo of the sleeping quarters. That way the helper can decide if she /he wants to accept the job. It is not fair for the helper to come and find that she has to sleep in a coffin size room. And it is especially hard on the helpers who come from the countryside where although they may be poor, they had space in their homes.