Advertisements for potentially illegal mainland Chinese cleaning services targeting Hong Kong households ahead of Lunar New Year remain available on social media platform RedNote despite recent arrests by the city’s immigration authorities, the South China Morning Post has found.
In a related development, the Federation of Hong Kong Food and Beverage Industries Trade Unions on Tuesday also pointed to a surge in posts by Shenzhen-based chefs openly advertising private catering services across the border for Lunar New Year reunions and private banquets, with rates starting at HK$500 (US$64) per hour.
Some listings even offered all-inclusive packages that included ingredients and waitstaff alongside the chef, it said. The federation condemned suspected illegal labor practices and warned of serious food safety hazards.
“We urge the relevant government departments to strengthen inspections, enforcement and public education to safeguard the employment rights of local catering industry workers and ensure food safety for the public,” a union spokesman said.
Checks by the SCMP on RedNote found several suspected illegal posts promoting domestic cleaning services in the city, with some saying “professional local team sent to Hong Kong home” and another promising to “deep clean your home in Hong Kong”.
None of those posts clearly named the origin of the janitors.
A reporter posing as a customer sent direct messages to one of the service providers requesting a quotation for a deep clean of a 400 sq ft flat in Sheung Shui, including sweeping and mopping, and cleaning windows, furniture and the hood in the kitchen.
The operator quoted HK$130 (US$16.60) per hour, with a minimum requirement of three hours per session, saying the shorter the shift, the less “cost-effective” the cleaning task. It also requested HK$60 as a border crossing transport fee.
The mainland operator then asked the reporter to switch to the WeChat messaging platform to confirm details of the service and pay half the price as a deposit.
The operator added that she was the janitor and held a one-year multiple-entry permit.
“I’ve been well trained in Shenzhen and I have a lot of customers. I also come to Hong Kong frequently and am well acquainted with the cross-border routine,” she said.
“You need to provide me with the tools and cleansers so that I won’t draw any suspicions at the border.”
Under immigration regulations, any visitor holding such a permit is banned from taking up any employment in Hong Kong, whether it is paid or unpaid.
The Smart Living scheme managed by the government’s Employees Retraining Board sets the recommended hourly rate for general domestic cleaning at HK$115 to HK$145, with prices expected to climb higher ahead of Lunar New Year.
In a reply to the SCMP, the Immigration Department said “decisive action” would be taken against individuals organising, arranging or inciting the public to employ illegal workers on social media platforms or instant messaging applications.
“This includes deploying undercover operations to combat unlawful activities involving the use of online platforms to solicit business and arrange for illegal workers to come to Hong Kong for employment,” a spokesman said.
He added that the department would exchange intelligence with mainland authorities and urge them to take appropriate follow-up actions with the relevant platforms, such as requesting the removal of the posts in question.
Labour sector lawmaker Lam Wai-kong said that Hong Kong residents could easily hire illegal labour unknowingly from RedNote because the advertisements did not specify where their workers came from, affecting the income of local cleaners.
“It’s the one time of the year that [local cleaners] would make a little more, as prices would usually increase just before the Lunar New Year clean-up, usually by 30 to 50 per cent to about HK$180 to HK$220 an hour,” Lam said.
Fellow labour sector lawmaker Lee Kwong-yu pointed out that cleaners were one of the four main types of illegal labour in Hong Kong, and said he had raised the issue to Welfare and Labour Department representatives.
“In addition to being illegal for the worker and the employer, the protection for acts with high risks, such as cleaning windows, would become very ambiguous and employers might have to bear the responsibility,” Lee said.
Last month, Hong Kong authorities arrested two cleaners from the mainland in an undercover operation with officers posing as customers to lure the two women to the city, who were later sentenced to 54 days behind bars.
Visitors working in Hong Kong illegally could be penalised with a penalty of up to HK$50,000 and two years behind bars, while those hiring illegal labour could be fined HK$500,000 and given 10 years in jail. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
