Migrant Workers Protest

While the anti-government protests in Hong Kong that started in June of 2019 have made world headlines, there has been another protest going on for years that has silently gone under the radar.

While the anti-government protests in Hong Kong that started in June of 2019 have made world headlines, there has been another protest going on for years that has silently gone under the radar.

Domestic migrant workers congregate in Hong Kong’s public spaces every Sunday, something they have been doing every Sunday for decades. Thousands of women sit on cardboard and plastic mats to protest the poor working conditions they endure, they do this protest during their only day off.

According to a 2018 Hong Kong census, there are 386,075 migrant workers and they live in a precarious state. Often overworked, under paid, and lacking protective labor laws. Unlike expatriates from other foreign countries who can apply for residency after seven years, Southeast Asian migrant workers have no legal route to citizenship.

It appears that even their protesting is marginalized.