PHL welcomes Hong Kong's scrapping of domestic helpers' levy

Hong Kong on Wednesday officially announced the abolition of a levy paid by employers of foreign domestic helpers, a move welcomed by Philippine officials there. The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong said Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung announced the abolition of the Employees Retraining Levy in his 2013 Policy Address. “To ease the burden on families employing FDHs, I have decided to abolish the FDH levy when the suspension of its collection expires on 31 July 2013,” the consulate quoted the Hong Kong chief executive as saying. In an article posted on its website, the Philippine Consulate General said it looks forward to working together with Hong Kong's government to ensure the rights of Filipinos there. Citing figures as of November 30 last year, the Consulate General said there are 155,484 OFWs in Hong Kong. "The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong welcomes this announcement and looks forward to continue working together with the Hong Kong Government to ensure that the rights and welfare of the Filipinos in Hong Kong are protected," it said. An earlier report on Radio Television Hong Kong said the levy, also known as the so-called "maids' levy," was introduced in 2003 but had been on hold since 2008. While it was in effect, employers were made to pay HK$9,600 (P50,304) for each two-year contract for foreign domestic helpers. The money would go to an Employee Retraining Fund to subsidize the retraining of local workers. However, the RTHK report said the Employee Retraining Board claimed it has a surplus at the moment of some HK$2.3 billion - enough for its operations for three more years. RTHK quoted New People's Party chairperson Regina Ip, who had been pushing for the abolition of the levy, as saying she was glad to hear the news. She said she had been arguing for four years that funds for retraining local workers should come from general revenue and not from a segment of the middle class such as employers of foreign domestic helpers. - VVP, GMA News