HK urged not to impose taxes on RI workers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia has called on Hong Kong authorities not to impose the proposed income tax on Indonesian workers employed in the territory because the practice is against the ILO Convention.

"The government considers Hong Kong's labor policy inappropriate because according to the ILO convention, income tax cannot be imposed on those who earn the minimum wage," manpower and transmigration minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said after receiving his Hong Kong counterpart Stephen I.P. here on Monday.

He, however, added that Indonesia could not pressure Hong Kong authorities to cancel the proposed labor policy because it was an internal matter.

The Philippine government has also lodged a similar objection because it has some 70,000 citizens employed as domestic helpers in the territory.

Because of a possible deficit in its 2003 budget, Hong Kong parliament, labor unions, and non-governmental organizations have proposed that the authorities impose between HK$400 and $500 as income tax on all foreign workers employed in China's special territory. Hong Kong employs around 80,000 Indonesians as domestic helpers earning a minimum wage of $3,670 per month.

The proposed income tax has sparked protest from foreign workers who say the new policy is not fair and against the ILO Convention.

Meanwhile, Stephen pledged to bring his Indonesian counterpart's concerns to the relevant Hong Kong officials.

"I myself cannot make a decision on this matter. But I will bring this matter to be discussed with other relevant officials," he said.

Asked to comment on reports that some Indonesian workers were paid salaries below the minimum wage, Stephen said the Hong Kong authorities had legislation that imposed a one-year prison sentence and a fine of $20,000 against employers found guilty of underpaying workers.

"The problem is that Hong Kong authorities and Indonesian representatives have difficulty obtaining evidence in cases of underpayment," he said.

Jacob Nuwa Wea has ordered the director general of labor placement, I Gusti Made Arke, to set up an independent team to examine the competence of all workers sent overseas because many workers have been underpaid because they are unskilled.

"The team should not allow workers to work overseas unless they have some skills, including a mastery of the language of the country where they will be employed," he said.

He said all recruitment agencies were required to have training centers to train workers in languages and skills according to the field in which they would be employed.

"Recruitment agencies that do not have a training center are not allowed to send workers overseas," he said.