Creative content for social media on ethical recruitment for employers of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is looking for Content Producer to develop creative content for social media on ethical recruitment for employers of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

Background

Established in 1951, International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non- governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. In 2016, IOM has joined the United Nations and becomes the UN Migration Agency.

In Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (hereafter referred to as Hong Kong), the number of business operations continues to grow rapidly, leading to increased employment opportunities for the local population. In order to enable both men and women to enter the workforce, the society in Hong Kong heavily depends on employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) to take care of children and to meet the demand for elderly care. Hong Kong currently has about 400,00 MDWs, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. While many of them have had a good migration experience, a recent study1 has shown that MDWs in Hong Kong are vulnerable to exploitation, and frequently subjected to a range of unethical recruitment and abusive employment practices by recruitment agencies in both countries of origin and Hong Kong.

IOM believes that the employers of MDWs can be change agents to prevent abuse and exploitation of MDWs by adopting the international ethical recruitment standard. They can play an important role to ensure the hired workers are recruited ethically by both the agencies in Hong Kong and the Countries of Origin. As the customers of the employment agencies, employers have good leverage to demand transparent and ethical recruitment practices from the selected agencies. Furthermore, through conducting on-going due diligence of agencies, employers could ensure agencies are always up to ethical standard and request the agencies rectify any recruitment related issues in a timely manner. Unfortunately, most current employers – especially new employers – are not aware of the importance of due diligence, the benefits of ethical recruitment to employers and their family, as well as how they can easily adopt ethical recruitment in practice. Therefore, it is essential to increase employers’ awareness and understanding about ethical recruitment and how they could take actions to ensure ethical recruitment happens.