OUR 2021 - 2022 FELLOW LUKE'S TESTIMONIAL

"After completing my legal studies, I was determined to apply my legal training to protect the rights of the underprivileged in Hong Kong. That was when I learned about the Access to Justice Fellowship, which provided an opportunity for law graduates to be placed into NGOs and immerse themselves into their daily work.

Through implementing a free legal advice scheme over the past several months at the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association, I watched a grassroots worker grow more confident in facing a trial at the Labour Tribunal, saw a young mother feel more relieved after getting preliminary advice for her pregnancy discrimination claim, and met service targets who thanked us for helping them when no one else seemed willing to help. These encounters gave me satisfaction that I would not be able to experience elsewhere.

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By joining the A2J Fellowship, I also had the chance to participate in outreach with HKWWA to approach cleaning workers, scavengers and other service targets in Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan. Through outreach, I gained insight into some of the difficulties Hong Kong's grassroots communities have to face, such as the exhaustion of mothers who have to simultaneously take care of several children and work part-time jobs to support their families, and the helplessness of workers who are unable to return to their original jobs after suffering a work injury.

Besides driving me to keep developing greater empathy and into a better listener, these stories also motivate me to think about how our current labour law regime can be improved to protect the welfare of our community."

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OUR FAIR WORK CLINIC 2021 IMPACT REPORT

During the first few months of our Inaugural Fellowship, we established the Fair Work Clinic - Hong Kong’s first legal clinic dedicated to employment issues.

The report evaluates the effectiveness of our legal clinic model, the challenges faced, and suggests areas of improvement for our model to continue addressing the service gap in the free/aided legal services provided by government bodies and NGOs.