Selective ban on maid deployment to HK mulled

The Philippines, along with nine other countries that send their nationals to Hong Kong, will file a motion for reconsideration before the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to block its plan to impose a HK$400 cut on salaries of foreign domestic workers, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas ople said yesterday.

Ople said the nine other countries agreed to join the Philippines in appealing HKSAR’s decision.

"They agreed to join forces so the Hong Kong goverment will be persuaded to review this policy," he said.

Ople said he instructed Consul General to Hong Kong Victoria Bataclan to file the motion before the Hong Kong authorities.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the government is considering a selective ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Hong Kong.

She said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now studying the possibility of disallowing deployment of domestic workers if Hong Kong authorities would not reconsider its decision to cut the minimum wage of foreign maids.

"We are looking into the possibility of not approving contracts that would provide wages below the minimum salary of our domestic helpers in Hong Kong at this time," Sto. Tomas said in an interview.

The POEA governing board, she disclosed, is set to convene next week to review the existing guidelines on the hiring of domestic helpers in the former crown colony.

But the labor chief stressed that the government will await Hong Kong’s decision on the appeal for a reconsideration of the new wage policy before opting for a new deployment regulation.

"We will do this step by step and file a motion for reconsideration next week," she said.

The government is also planning to lodge a protest with the International Labor Organization (ILO) after assessing the negative implication of the Hong Kong wage policy on foreign domestic helpers.

Hong Kong announced Wednesday it will slash the minimum wage of the estimated 240,000 foreign domestic workers in the territory, including the 153,000 Filipinos, from $471 to only $420 starting April 1.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, however, said that the existing contracts of more than 150,000 Filipino maids in Hong Kong right now are not affected by the minimum wage cuts.

The new tax measure, he said, will only be applicable to new or renewed contracts.

De Venecia met for almost two hours with Tung Che-Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region this week accompanied by Philippine consul general to Hong Kong Victoria Bataclan.