From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Indonesians in Hong Kong, numbering 102,100,[2] form the second-largest ethnic minority group in the territory, behind Filipinos.[3] Immigration from Indonesia to Hong Kong began as early as the 1960s, when Indonesian Chinese seeking to escape discrimination and anti-Chinese pogroms relocated to Hong Kong and Taiwan;[citation needed] most Indonesians coming to Hong Kong today are pribumi who arrive under limited-term contracts for employment as foreign domestic helpers. Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong comprise 2.4% of all overseas Indonesian workers.[4]
[edit] Employment
Indonesians domestic helpers often gather in the area near
Victoria Park on their days off.
In 2006, it was estimated that 102,100 Indonesians worked in Hong Kong,[5] of whom between 80 and 90% are estimated to be women;[6] this represents a growth of almost 250% from the 41,000 recorded six years earlier,[7] while during the same period, the number of domestic helpers from the Philippines declined. Some newspaper reports attributed this to the fact that Filipinas were "harder to manage", and additionally to the better training of Indonesian domestic helpers. Employment agencies in Indonesia sending workers to Hong Kong typically provide at least three to six months of training in household work, including a basic course in Cantonese, whereas similar agencies in the Philippines provide only fourteen days of training.[8] Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong are represented by two unions, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) and Coalition of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Organisations (KOTKIHO, Koalisi Organisasi Tenaga Kerja Indonesia Hong Kong).[9]
According to organizations representing migrant workers, police intimidation of migrant workers is also a problem.[10] Underpayment of wages and employer abuse is also a problem; Indonesian workers are often paid as little as HK$500 to HK$2000 per month.[11] The Hong Kong government threatened to expel Indonesian labourers in Hong Kong in response to the Indonesian government's inaction on crimes committed against ethnic Chinese women during the May 1998 riots in Jakarta; however, in the end, they did not act on this threat.[12]
[edit] Remittances and savings
Indonesians in Hong Kong send remittances less frequently than Indonesians in Japan and Singapore, or Filipinos in Hong Kong;[13] they were also somewhat less likely than Filipinos to use a bank to send such remittances, instead relying on friends or other informal networks such as hawala.[14] Contrary to the trend in Latin America, where remittances from relatives working in the United States are often used to meet daily expenses or for other consumption,[15] in one 2005 survey, more than half of Indonesian workers in Hong Kong reported that their families used their remittances to start businesses, each creating between one and five jobs.[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- ^ a b Radio International Singapore 2006-02-25
- ^ Media Indonesia Online 2006-11-30
- ^ US Dept. of State 2000: Section 5
- ^ Hugo 2000: 5
- ^ Media Indonesia Online 2006-11-30
- ^ Villalba 2005
- ^ US Dept. of State 2000: Section 5
- ^ Pacific Business News 2004
- ^ IMWU 2005-05-15
- ^ US Dept. of State 2000: Section 5
- ^ Media Indonesia Online 2006-11-30
- ^ HRW 1998: Introduction
- ^ Orozco 2005: 15
- ^ Orozco 2005: 24
- ^ Wall Street Journal 2006-11-01
- ^ Villalba 2005
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
|
Indonesian diaspora |
|
| By country |
|
|
