In addition to forbidding Filipino domestic workers Hong Kong from cleaning outside windows of high-rise residential units, they also should not be allowed to clean the rooftops of their employer’s apartment, according to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.
An official of the government agency, who requested not to be identified, said they managed to blacklist several Hong Kong employers for forcing their Filipino maids to clean their rooftops.
“That’s illegal. Any chore that will endanger the worker will not be allowed,” the official said, in a report by Hong Kong News.
The official said some employers try to include “rooftop cleaning” as an “additional duty” in the contract of their domestic workers. However, POLO voids such clauses and placed several employers because of such attempts.
A photo of a domestic worker cleaning a sloping rooftop of an apartment was sent to the news agency. The sender said the picture was taken in Tai Po on June 27.
This comes as photos of a foreign domestic worker cleaning a window of an apartment in Quarry Bay while hanging precariously outside.
“Even if it had just rained, she still cleans that window. I wanted long ago to take a video or picture of her but I was afraid. This morning, my conscience could not take it anymore,” the sender of the photo said.
The Hong Kong government, starting January 2017, prohibited FDHs from cleaning flat windows from the outside, and this is clearly stated under the standard contract for FDHs.
It said if the worker were to clean the outside portion of flat windows, the window should have a grille that is locked or secured and “no part of the helper’s body extends beyond the window ledge except the arms.”
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