MANILA, Philippines – Non-government
organizations based in Hong Kong lauded the move of Chief Executive
Leung Chun-ying for abolishing the levy on employers hiring foreign
domestic workers.
Cynthia Abdon-Tellez of the Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW) said
that since the start of its implementation in 2003, advocates have
called the levy as unjust burden to both the employers and to foreign
domestic workers (FDWs).
“With the news of its abolition, employers and FDWs can breathe a small sigh of relief,” said Abdon-Tellez.
The announcement to scrap the $400 levy was made on Wednesday, when the Hong Kong Chief Executive delivered his policy address.
“For years, migrants and advocates have lobbied for its abolition and
even challenged the constitutionality of the levy. This is the reward
of such painstaking advocacy,” said Abdon-Tellez.
She hopes that this will serve as an inspiration for supporters of
migrant’s rights to persevere in pressing the HK government to also make
the necessary changes to discriminatory rules in Hong Kong such as the
Two-Week Rule and the mandatory live-in employment arrangement.
“To not worry about the levy anymore is indeed a relief. But for as
long as social exclusion and discrimination persists in Hong Kong, the
rights of FDWs will always be insecure and easily violated by
unscrupulous employers, agencies and even by the government,”
Abdon-Tellez concluded.
Meanwhile, Eni Lestari, spokesperson of the Asian Migrants
Coordinating Body (AMCB) considered the scrapping of the levy as a
victory.
“Victory is ours. The determination of foreign domestic workers to defeat the levy has finally paid off,” Lestari said.
Lestari said that FDWs including herself and other members of AMCB,
filed a case against the HK government on April 1, 2003 seeking a court
order to declare the levy as illegal and unconstitutional. She said the
HK government prevailed then.
“But we persisted and persevered. Through our rallies and
submissions, we never let the government and the public forget that the
undue and unjust burden of the levy is still existing alongside other
policies that are regressive and violate the rights of migrants
including our exclusion from the statutory minimum wage,” she stressed.
But the campaign against the levy, she said, strengthened unity and solidarity among migrant workers.
“Once again, we have proven that our collective strength to fight for
our rights and welfare has borne positive results. We shall continue
our struggle to achieve more victories in our campaign against social
exclusion in Hong Kong,” she said.
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