To a foreigner, this may look like a giant flea market, or a celebratory gathering commemorating a special occasion, but this is just your casual Sunday afternoon at the HSBC Headquarters in Hong Kong. What you’re witnessing is a sea of domestic helpers/maids taking their usual day-offs, and meeting up with one another over card-games and food. They sit of picnic mats all day, catching up with fellow maids, sharing stories of obnoxious bosses and spoiled children. They are not found just at HSBC, they infiltrate the entire city every Sunday, filling up pedestrian walkways, overpasses, subway stations – everywhere. As I was strolling around the downtown sector yesterday, I felt uneasy walking through their claimed territories, feeling like a complete trespasser.

You may wonder where they all come from? Why don’t they go anywhere else, but the same spots week after week? Why would they not be interested to go hiking or watch movies on their much deserved day-offs? I had very much the same questions, so I decided to ask some of them.

Hong Kong has one of the largest markets for domestic helpers. However recently, the number of Philipino maids has in comparison slowly dwindled  with the increasing arrival of Indonesian helpers. I did some math to try to understand the scale of it all:

Hong Kong Population -> 7M people (assuming 3 ppl/family) = 2.3M Families

Maids Population -> 130K Indonesians + 128K Philipino + 3.5K Thais/Sri-Lankans = 259.5K Maids

% of Households with Maids -> 259.5k/2.3M (assuming 1 maid/family) = 12% of Families

With the arrival of new counterparts, the Philipino maids that I spoke to did not feel hostile as I had expected; in fact, they were so welcoming of their Indonesian peers, that they included them at their weekly gatherings. The Philipino’s explained that they were sympathetic towards the Indonesians’ situations, having been estranged foreigners once themselves. These women shared a common bond, understanding the hardship behind leaving their loved ones in pursuit to make ends meet. The Philipino’s were particularly concerned since most of the Indonesians were younger women in their early 20′s, and were ignorant to their legal rights in the new city. In contrast, most Philipino maids were older in their late 50′s, and offered themselves as maternal roles to the new-comers. Many Indonesians have apparently offered to work under the legal minimum wage in desperation for employment. As you can imagine, this attracts just the most twisted of employers; in fact, domestic violence is an issue that most helpers around Asia are concerned with.

Legal minimum wage for maids -> 485 CND$/month

Total # of hours/month -> 3 weeks X 6 days X 15 hours = 270 hours/week *these ladies are working more hours than iBankers!

Hourly wage -> 485/270 = 1.79 $/hour *ABSURD!

At that going rate, and having worked long hours doing mundane chores, and servicing uncourteous bosses, it is understandable why these maids may not want to venture around the city on exotic hikes during their precious day-offs. Playing card games with fellow peers can not only ease their minds, but surely serve as a therapeutic escape from the responsibilities and expectations associated with such damning conditions.

In case if you still don’t believe me…