No matter how cramped your house, it is inhuman to let a domestic helper eat and sleep inside the toilet. A Filipina working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong was able to experience that kind of situation.
Grace Enicito, 32 years old, previously worked in Saudi Arabia and was provided with her own room by her employer. However, when she arrived in Hong Kong last August 21, 2020, her employer showed the space where she is supposed to eat and sleep – it’s inside a toilet. Right then, she asked for the advice of a support group.
Image from SunwebHK
Grace tried to confront her employer but they didn’t listen to her. She reported her situation to her agency but they didn’t offer any help and only advised her to bear with the situation or she will have to pay her employer in case her employment contract gets terminated.
Thinking that her pleas are worthless, the OFW informed her employer about her decision to leave. Right then, they reconsidered Grace’s request to have the spare room but the latter maintained her decision to leave.
But soon after, Grace’s employer said that she will be taken to the airport the next morning to return to the Philippines. That’s the time that the OFW decided to call the police.
Image from SunwebHK
In the court, Grace showed pictures of the space provided by her employer. But Lau, the employer of the Filipina, argued that they couldn’t find anything wrong about the space that they gave to the Filipina domestic helper, adding that their previous helpers also stayed inside the toilet without complaint. The employer who also works as a school teacher said that space offered privacy for the helper.
The Hong Kong court decided to let the employer of the Filipina pay compensation worth $27,780 (PhP174,145) or the victim’s six-month worth of salary.
Source SunWebHK
