A recent investigative feature by U-Beat Magazine has exposed allegations of exploitation involving foreign workers brought to Hong Kong under the government’s expanded labour importation scheme. One worker, Niki from Guangzhou, says she arrived in September 2024 expecting to work as a floor manager in a Chinese restaurant, only to end up washing dishes and losing thousands of dollars to what she believes was a fabricated insurance premium.
Niki was recruited through an agency under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, a fast-tracked work visa policy introduced to ease labour shortages in sectors such as construction, catering and care work. To secure the job, she paid HK$28,000 in placement fees, which is a common but controversial practice, as migrant workers often carry these costs as debt.
However, Niki told reporters that on her very first day, she was ordered into the kitchen to wash dishes due to an absent colleague. What was meant to be temporary quickly became the norm: she says she spent five out of six working days in the dishwashing area, far from the managerial role she was promised.
Demanded to pay for the employer’s legal obligation
On her third day, Niki claims her employer insisted she pay for medical insurance, despite regulations requiring employers to provide coverage themselves. She was told the policy had already been purchased and was charged HK$10,000, which she paid under pressure.
When she later suffered an injury at home and attempted to make an insurance claim, the employer allegedly evaded responsibility. After contacting the insurer directly, she says she discovered no such policy existed. When she confronted her employer and requested reimbursement, she was dismissed within two days.
Niki subsequently reported the incident to Hong Kong’s Labour Department to recover the lost insurance money and unpaid wages. She alleges her agency later warned her not to pursue the complaint further, threatening to lodge accusations with immigration authorities that could jeopardise her stay.
Her story likely not isolated
Since the expanded labour importation programme was launched, more than 35,000 catering workers have been approved for entry, with waiter / waitress making up roughly one-third — the largest intake among all industries. Labour groups have long warned that weak oversight leaves migrant workers exposed to deception, wage theft and threats of deportation.
Niki’s case, advocates say, is probably only the tip of the iceberg. Critics argue that loopholes in the system incentivise employers to hire imported labour without providing proper protection, accountability or dignity at work.