The first batch of 200 domestic workers from Cambodia could arrive in Hong Kong in October, but the number is well under the initial target of 1,000 workers by next month.
The recruitment plan got a lukewarm response in Cambodia due to inadequate promotion of the scheme and difficulty spreading word about the move in rural areas, Apple Daily reported.
On Friday, Law Chi-kwong, secretary for the Labor and Manpower Bureau, finished a three-day trip to Cambodia, where he met with government officials, employment agencies and a domestic workers association to discuss the recruitment issue and arrangements.
Law also visited a learning center that provides training courses covering Cantonese, cooking Chinese dishes and nursing to those seeking such work.
According to a blog posted on the bureau’s website, Law said he was told by Cambodian officials that language abilities of Cambodian people were strong, and he also saw many building and road signs in Chinese, English and Khmer. He believed that Hong Kong citizens should not have a problem communicating with Cambodian maids.
Cambodian cuisine was also similar to Thai and Vietnamese dishes, he said, which people in Hong Kong should appreciate.
To facilitate the recruitment scheme, the labor department provided information for domestic workers in Khmer on its website, Wen Wei Po reported.
Undersecretary Caspar Tsui Ying-wai said on Sunday that demand for foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong was high, adding that the bureau would continue to expand the number of countries that can provide domestic workers to the city.
