Ople lobbies vs pay cuts for HK maids

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople urged Hong Kong on Saturday not to impose taxes or pay cuts on thousands of foreign maids, calling any such move "unfair and unwise."

Speaking at a press conference at the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, Ople said "it’s a very serious act of discrimination" to ask maids from poor Southeast Asian countries to "disproportionately" shoulder the burden of narrowing the territory’s ballooning budget deficit.

"Such a tax or levy is dreadful," he said. "It’s unfair and unwise."

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Ople has instructed Consul General to Hong Kong Victoria Bataclan to work with other affected countries to appeal to the Hong Kong government to set aside a plan to impose a five percent wage cut on foreign maids.

Although Hong Kong has not commented on the proposal, Bataclan said the maids might get their pay cut by five percent instead of being taxed.

Ople said Hong Kong political leader Tung Chee-hwa promised to consider his view but offered no assurance.

Ople said he would continue to lobby against the proposed tax or wage cut with the help of other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"In times of economic difficulties, the pain should not be put on frail shoulders of those least able to bear it," he said. "(It is) unwise because foreign domestic helpers liberate Hong Kong women from their household chores and allow them to be active contributors to the housing economy."

Last December, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said if Hong Kong treats Filipino maids unfairly, the Philippines could stop giving them clearance to come work there.

Filipino domestic helpers may be retrained as caregivers so they could work in Europe, Canada and the United States, she added.

Some Hong Kong politicians have suggested taxing domestic helpers’ minimum monthly salaries of HK$3,670 by as much as HK$750 to help ease the territory’s budget deficit, but Manila continues to oppose any change.

Filipinos make up the biggest number of live-in domestic helpers in Hong Kong, with an estimated 153,000 of them, followed by 70,000 Indonesians and smaller number of Thais and Nepalese.

All four nations have been angered by the proposed taxes, as the maids typically send money home.