No progress yet on blacklist of rogue recruiters to aid Hong Kong jobseekers, especially domestic helpers
- Government spokesman says list is not retroactive and will only consider agencies who flout rules since new portal’s launch
- Groups call for reclassification of domestic helpers as ethnic minorities
A newly launched Hong Kong Labour Department initiative against rogue recruiters has yet to fulfil its promise of publishing a blacklist of employment agencies online to help jobseekers, especially domestic helpers.
Although names on the list will remain online for one or two years, a check more than a month after the portal’s launch showed not a single recruiter had been blacklisted. The website is run by the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) under the department.
A spokesman for the department said this was because agencies with past violations were not targeted, with the list set only for those who flout rules since its inception.
Cynthia Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, a charitable organisation, said: “We definitely welcome these efforts although we have yet to see how they are implemented with regards to unscrupulous agencies.”
We definitely welcome these efforts although we have yet to see how they are implemented with regards to unscrupulous agencies
The department conducted a month-long consultation on the plan, which would provide aid especially to domestic helpers seeking work in the city, who are at times exploited by agencies charging exorbitant fees.
