Philippines to sue Hong Kong over wage cuts to maids
Philippines to sue Hong Kong over wage cuts to maids
Agence France-Presse, Manila
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said on Saturday her government will sue the Hong Kong government in Hong Kong courts over the wage cuts imposed on Filipina domestic workers there.
"We will not only bring our case to the ILO (International Labor Organization), but also to the Hong Kong courts themselves. We will sue the Hong Kong government in the Hong Kong courts," Arroyo said in a speech marking international women's day.
She said the move could prove effective, remarking that "sometimes, the Hong Kong government loses cases in court."
Arroyo did not say on what basis her government would file the case against the Hong Kong government.
Arroyo also defended her decision to suspend the deployment of Filipina maids to Hong Kong, saying that this had added weight to the campaign in Hong Kong to halt the wage cuts.
She remarked that both the Philippines and Indonesia had stopped sending maids to Hong Kong and that Sri Lanka was thinking of joining them.
Since the three countries account for the bulk of foreign domestic workers there, this had led to more pressure to leave the salaries of foreign maids unchanged.
"This is recognition that a levy (on the maids) however disguised is unfair and discriminatory," Arroyo said.
Arroyo on Wednesday had barred the sending of Philippine maids to Hong Kong after the territory ignored her appeals not to impose the wage cuts.
Some organizations have assailed Arroyo's ban on the deployment of maids, saying it will only worsen their plight.
One group, United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL) blasted the declaration for causing "anxiety and confusion" among those maids who were currently having their contracts processed or renewing contracts in the next few weeks.
UNIFIL demanded on Saturday that Arroyo sack her Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas for endorsing the ban.
However Arroyo reiterated that she favored the ban, urging, "those who oppose the suspension, give me more time."
Manila earlier said the suspension on deployment of maids to Hong Kong may only last two months, but Arroyo said that even a one-month suspension "will help us in the long term."
In a move to reduce its budget deficit, Hong Kong has announced that a maid's minimum wage is to be reduced by 400 Hong Kong dollars (US$51) a month to 3,270 dollars a month ($420) for employment contracts signed on or after April 1.
The wage cut effectively offsets a levy of 400 dollars ($51) a month, which private employers of foreign household help in Hong Kong will have to pay from Oct. 1.
To oppose the wage cut, Filipino consul general in Hong Kong, Victoria Bataclan, has been instructed to talk to her counterparts from Indonesia, Thailand, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to join forces on the issue.
Indonesia and the Philippines provide the bulk of the 240,000- strong foreign domestic work force in Hong Kong.
Indonesia is already enforcing an unrelated temporary ban on sending maids, babysitters and care attendants to a number of markets including Hong Kong.
Government records show close to 2,000 Filipinos leave the country every month to work as maids in other countries.