Filipinos in Hong Kong

Filipinos constitute the largest ethnic minority in Hong Kong, numbering approximately 130,000, many of whom work as foreign domestic helpers. The Eastern District has the highest concentration of Filipino residents in Hong Kong, with 3.24% of the district's population being of Filipino descent (14,596 people). The Philippines was one of the first countries to send workers through the foreign domestic helper program beginning in the 1970’s. This allowed helpers to work for a single employer, working for at least a minimum allowable wage. Most of these workers were mothers, grandmothers or eldest daughters, working to save money for their children, seeking better living standards with higher wages than in the Philippines. According to CNN, Filipino migrant workers are legally required to live in their employers’ homes. Because Hong Kong does not have laws limiting the maximum working hours per day or week, workers can perform tasks for as long as sixteen hours a day six days a week. The range of services that are achieved for employers include cleaning, cooking, shopping for groceries, and taking care of children, the elderly and pets. Nonetheless, according to The Guardian, domestic helpers still consider Hong Kong to be one of the best places in Asia get work. Filipino domestic workers report that their families back home make demands for money and have unrealistic ideas about finance, but, many state their main responsibility is to provide for their families through migration. The mistreatment of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong is commonly found through stereotypes and disciplinary regulation. According to anthropologist Nicole Constable, Hongkongers consider Filipino workers to be lazy, demanding, lacking commitment, and “only in it for the money.” They are also labelled as “apathetic” about Hong Kong in addition to being poor and uneducated from a “backwards country.” On the other hand, some citizens view these helpers as “hard workers who contribute valuable labor to the colony.