Victoria Ahn - Communications Manager, Fair Employment Agency


By PANGYAO_Official on 26th May 2020

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Please introduce yourself and the organisation you represent!

Hello! My name is Victoria. I work at Fair Employment Foundation and our mission is to build market solutions to end forced labour of migrant workers across Asia. The Fair Foundation's two non-profit businesses include Fair Employment Agency in Hong Kong and Fair Training Center in Manila. We want to change the way migrant recruitment is done so that it is fair to workers.

 

What is the difference between Fair Employment Agency and a traditional employment agency?

For too long, employment agencies have been making money from doing a bad job. Employers are charged for bad customer service, while agencies secretly charge domestic helpers too. This illegal practice leaves domestic helpers in debt and it fails employers.

 

When agencies charge domestic helpers, they are incentivised to place those who are willing to pay, rather than those who are right for the job. When a helper is fired or quits, the agency makes more money by charging replacement workers. Meanwhile the domestic helper gets further into debt as she borrows more money for a new job. We saw this broken system and knew we could do better.

 

We launched Fair Employment Agency as a better way of hiring domestic helpers. Because we never charge fees to domestic helpers, our agency works for the interests of everyone. Domestic helpers benefit because they start their jobs free from recruitment debt. Employers benefit because we only place helpers who are a good match for their family. And Hong Kong benefits because we are setting a new standard of professionalism for all employment agencies.

 

What social issues would you like to see improve in Hong Kong? 

We want to see migrant recruitment work fairly for workers and employers. That means no recruitment fees to workers and professional and accountable service from employment agencies. 

 

How can employers and domestic workers get in touch with you?

They can reach us at our website:  https://www.fairagency.org/

Our Facebook Page in English:  https://www.facebook.com/FairAgency/

Our Facebook Page in Chinese:  https://www.facebook.com/FairAgencyHK/