‘Bunk bed workers’ | Migrants living in crowded flats

Evelita Justo

A  significant number of migrant workers face difficulties living in the region due to the sudden surge in housing expenses.

While many migrant workers live in “normal” situations where a maximum of four people live in a two-bedroom apartment, some squeeze themselves in flats that house  up to 18 fellow countrymen.

These individuals blame the minimum requirement of MOP500 for housing allowances that their employers give them in addition to the cost of living  that mean they simply cannot afford to rent more spacious domains. Thus, they are forced to live in rooms that have two or three bunk beds.

With cramped spaces and nearly intolerable living conditions, these workers crowd themselves into apartments where rental costs fall within the minimum monthly housing allowance.

Evelita Justo, a Filipino migrant who has been working in Macau for 27 years as a domestic helper shared with the Times the struggles domestic employees face concerning living conditions and privacy.

Justo, who has been working for the same employer since she arrived in Macau in 1991, lamented that the increase of living costs in the city do not match with the basic salary and housing allowance employers provide.

Living with eight fellow migrant workers in an apartment that costs MOP7,000 per month, Justo shared that she only used to live with two fellow compatriots back in the 1990s and early 2000s when each room only cost MOP500.

“I can really say that all prices in Macau have tripled. What you can buy in markets for MOP2 back in the days, now costs more than MOP10,” she noted. “So in terms of house rents, if you will not live with several people to share bills with, you can’t find a place that would fit MOP500,” she added.

The Times’ interviewees noted that a minimum bed space would cost up to MOP800; while some set up beds in the living room to further reduce the amount per person for a months’ rent.

“Even though you try to be thrifty and only spend on important things, the minimum salaries of domestic helpers are not really enough.”

According to Justo, there are still cases where employers do not provide a house allowance, despite it being stated on their contract.

Echoing those sentiments, a domestic employee who asked not to be identified, told the Times that she used to give back MOP500 to her boss after having MOP3,000 deposited into her account.

“MOP3,000 is the salary that is written on the contract but my boss only gives me MOP2,500, because I have to return the remaining to her,” she said.

After working for her employer for three years, she said that she now receives the full amount deposited to her account, however this figure does not include housing allowance.

“It’s really tough to live with a lot of people,” the unnamed worker stressed. “But what can we do. If we’d move flats, it would be the same; and chances are, we would pay more,” she added.

Maerell Wadason, another housekeeper, also shared that she does not receive any housing allowance as she was asked by her employer to reside in their apartment.

However, she refused to, because she has a family residing in the region, resulting in zero housing allowance granted to her. She now lives in an apartment with nine migrant workers.

“It doesn’t matter anymore whether you feel convenient living with many people or not but what matters is being able to save some money,” she commented. “You really have to go to an apartment where you can still save some money for yourself or else your salary would only go to house expenses,” she added.

Similarly to Justo, she noted that it is significantly better to live under good conditions with privacy as was the case in the past, yet due to excessive price of house rents, she has resorted to living with several flatmates.

These migrant workers face difficulties when handling the different outlooks and characteristics of the people they live with.

Since most of the migrant workers do not have relatives in the region, they are forced to live with fellow nationals – but these people are still strangers.

Yet, their problems do not end there.

Some migrant workers act as a landlord where they rent an apartment, pay a three-month fee for deposit and agency fee.

Similar to Justo who acts as a landlady to her eight housemates, she stressed to the Times that it is problematic to communicate with real estate agencies.

“Based on my experience, some agencies really rush us to leave the apartment without even one-month’s notice. They think that we have that much money to pay another three-month rental fee,” she complained.

According to the Times’ sources, some real estate agencies rush these tenants to move out citing reasons such as the property being sold.

Justo noted that most agencies go so far as to offer an unrealistic price for a tiny flat, threatening the workers to “take it or leave it.”

Meanwhile, another migrant worker, Starina Lelis, expressed her hope that the MSAR would help by increasing the minimum monthly living grant so as to prevent them from living with numerous others.

Lelis lives with 18 people in a five-room apartment that costs MOP8,000 per month.

According to her, she sleeps in a room with two bunk beds, along with three other roommates.

“It’s a pity for my fellow compatriots who earn less than MOP3,500 because this salary is impossible especially if you are not a ‘stay in’ employee,” she said.

Meanwhile, a Filipino Facebook group “Bahay Kubo sa Macau,” which translates to “Nipa Hut in Macau,” contains dozens of rooms that are up for rental purposes.

Some posts contain images of an “extension room,”- a room that has been illegally transformed from a living room to a bedroom, for rental purposes.

The group serves as a platform for the community to share information and sell items online.

These dozens of “room for rent” posts show that not only do domestic helpers experience the strains of coping with the region’s living standards but also of making less than Macau’s average earnings.

No contact with proprietors increases risk of high rents

The Times is aware of situations where real-estate agencies prohibit tenants to be in contact with homeowners. This could imply that these tenants may be in danger of being ripped off, or vulnerable to an unnecessary increase in house rental rates.

While some tenants have direct deals with proprietors that require no agency fees, some simply transfer rent payments to banks which are claimed to be proprietors’ accounts.

Justo, a tenant who doubts whether she pays monthly rents directly to the homeowner or an agency, hinted that she has no option but to pay to the instructed bank account number.

“I don’t think the signee in the contract and the bank account that we deposit money into every month is the same,” she said.

Although contracts may be written in English, some individuals only provide contracts written in Chinese characters.

Meanwhile, there are tenants who pay house rents along with electricity and water bills to the agency without the agent’s proof of utility consumption receipts.

Some lodgers are also required to repaint the property and repair deteriorated domestic utilities without the owner reimbursing the cost.