{"id":5651,"date":"2014-01-26T00:26:45","date_gmt":"2014-01-25T04:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?p=5651"},"modified":"2014-01-26T00:53:19","modified_gmt":"2014-01-25T16:53:19","slug":"hong-kong-new-protests-demand-justice-for-migrant-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Solidarity with migrant workers: To achieve justice we must change the whole system!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dikang, Socialist Action (CWI in Hong Kong)<\/p>\n

Hong Kong has seen an impressive wave of street protests by migrant domestic workers, especially from among the 140,000-strong Indonesian community, over the horrific beating and abuse of 23-year old Indonesian domestic worker\u00a0Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. On 19 January around 5,000 domestic workers and their supporters marched to demand justice and an end to draconian laws that severely restrict the freedoms and rights of migrant workers. A new mass protest will take place on Sunday 26 January, marching from Victoria Park to the Indonesian consulate. In a solidarity leaflet for this demo the supporters of Socialist Action (CWI) made the following statement:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Repeal the \u2018live-in\u2019 rule NOW!<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Replace money-grabbing agencies with a public non-profit hiring system <\/strong>
\n\u2022 United struggle against discrimination, racism, capitalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

The case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih has shaken Hong Kong. The reality of \u2018modern day slavery\u2019 in one of Asia\u2019s richest cities has become a focus for the world\u2019s media. The outpouring of support and sympathy for migrant workers has begun to break through the racist divisions fostered by the government and capitalist elite. This could mark a turning point in the struggle for basic workers\u2019 rights and legal protection for migrants in Hong Kong. Because they make up almost 10 percent of Hong Kong\u2019s workforce, a victory for migrants will strengthen the position of all workers!<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Dan Gar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Erwiana\u2019s suffering has opened the eyes of the media and big sections of the population to the evils of the current migrant employment system. The government acts like a prison warden in defending harsh rules like the \u2018live in\u2019 rule and \u2018two week\u2019 rule which seriously limit the freedoms and legal rights of migrants. A recent survey showed 58 percent of Indonesian domestic workers have experienced verbal abuse and almost one in five has experienced physical abuse. In January, two Indonesian domestic workers have fallen to their death while cleaning windows. Few have dared to refuse such risky and unreasonable duties. But Erwiana\u2019s case has led to a change of mood. More and more migrant women\u00a0are coming forward to report abuse. By showing the power of organised protest action and how this can win widespread sympathy in society, migrant workers have begun to speak out \u2013 and people are listening!<\/p>\n

The government tries to play down its own criminal role in the Erwiana case as if it is a \u2018third party\u2019 onlooker. We are not fooled! Government policies have created the conditions for such abuse. The whole system is to blame and must be changed!<\/p>\n

The current migrant employment system is designed to exploit migrants to the maximum as cheap and submissive labour. This suits the interests of the billionaire tycoons who are the real decision-makers in Hong Kong. To defend their billions of dollars in profits, they oppose the building of a modern welfare system \u2013 with universal public childcare and elderly care \u2013 and prefer to exploit a low-paid migrant workforce to provide these services.<\/p>\n

United against racism and discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n

Socialist Action is part of the Committee for a Workers\u2019 International (CWI), which has fighting socialist organisations and parties in 50 countries from Malaysia to the USA. We have been active in numerous struggles against racism and in defence of workers\u2019 rights. Racism is used by the rulers to cover up their system\u2019s failings. Right-wing Hong Kong politicians attack migrants for being \u2018ungrateful\u2019 (right of abode issue) or use them as pawns in international conflicts (Manila bus tragedy) to sow racist divisions within the working class. Yet only united struggle of migrants and native workers can win real change.<\/p>\n

Socialist Action fully supports the call to make \u2018live-out\u2019 an option allowing domestic workers to live independently. This is an important part of the struggle for regulated working hours. Hong Kong\u2019s apartments are the smallest by average square footage in the world. The government\u2019s insistence on the \u2018live in\u2019 rule is tied to its general housing policies favouring the big property tycoons rather than building affordable housing for the people. We also call for the agencies \u2013 a major part of the system of abuse \u2013 to be scrapped and replaced by a publicly controlled non-profit recruitment system. The choice is between a system built upon abuse and injustice that makes a tiny few rich, or a system democratically controlled in the public interest. Capitalist politicians like the unelected Hong Kong government always put profits first \u2013 socialism means the opposite!<\/p>\n

Solidarity and struggle<\/strong><\/p>\n

The struggle of migrant workers in Hong Kong is part of a global struggle for women\u2019s rights, and against racist laws which are increasing everywhere. This shows the need to build fighting trade unions that can really stand up to the capitalists and their governments. It shows the need for a working class alternative to the capitalist system \u2013 for socialist policies that benefit the majority. Continued protests for migrant workers\u2019 rights can win growing support from ordinary Hong Kong people for overturning today\u2019s unjust laws and practises. Like the slave traders of old, the Hong Kong government can be forced to back down \u2013 united working class struggle is the way forward!<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Dan Gar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solidarity with migrant workers: To achieve justice we must change the whole system! Dikang, Socialist Action (CWI in Hong Kong) Hong Kong has seen an impressive wave of street protests by migrant domestic workers, especially from among the 140,000-strong Indonesian community, over the horrific beating and abuse of 23-year old Indonesian domestic worker\u00a0Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":5652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[133,124],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hong-kong","8":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\nHong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Solidarity with migrant workers: To achieve justice we must change the whole system! Dikang, Socialist Action (CWI in Hong Kong) Hong Kong has seen an impressive wave of street protests by migrant domestic workers, especially from among the 140,000-strong Indonesian community, over the horrific beating and abuse of 23-year old Indonesian domestic worker\u00a0Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. On […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"264\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":891,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Hong Kong\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":264},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/26\\\/5651\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9801\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5\",\"description\":\"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Chinaworker.info\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"width\":120,\"height\":126,\"caption\":\"Chinaworker.info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SocialistAction\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/socialistactionhk\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker","og_description":"Solidarity with migrant workers: To achieve justice we must change the whole system! Dikang, Socialist Action (CWI in Hong Kong) Hong Kong has seen an impressive wave of street protests by migrant domestic workers, especially from among the 140,000-strong Indonesian community, over the horrific beating and abuse of 23-year old Indonesian domestic worker\u00a0Erwiana Sulistyaningsih. On […]","og_url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/","og_site_name":"China Worker","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","article_published_time":"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":264,"url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers","datePublished":"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/"},"wordCount":891,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg","articleSection":["Hong Kong","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/","name":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers - China Worker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-25T04:26:39+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-25T16:53:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/01\/MIgrant-demo-e1390623466880.jpg","width":300,"height":264},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/01\/26\/5651\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9801","item":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hong Kong: New protests demand justice for migrant workers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","name":"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5","description":"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization","name":"Chinaworker.info","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","width":120,"height":126,"caption":"Chinaworker.info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/socialistactionhk\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}