Consul
General Bataclan Appeals to HKSAR C.E. To Reconsider Ban on Live-Out
Arrangements For FDHs
Philippine Consul General Victoria S. Bataclan has appealed to
the HKSAR Chief Executive to reconsider the HKSAR Government's decision to prohibit the living-out arrangements for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs).
The HKSAR Government has announced that effective 1 April 2003, the
Immigration Department will no longer accept applications from employers to
arrange for their FDHs to live-out as this will run against the policy intent of the
admission of live-in full-time FDHs.
In her letter to the Chief Executive, Consul General Bataclan expressed the view
that this new arrangement is unfair, discriminatory and violative of the human
rights of FDHs. She said that "this is an undue restriction of the freedom of
movement of employees and curtails the freedom of choice of employers".
The Consul General lamented the hesitancy of the HKSAR Government officials
concerned to discuss the merits of this issue with affected workers or their
Government representatives. She, however, expressed her "continuing hope for
the HKSAR Government to favorably consider having a real and genuine discussion with us and with other parties concerned on issues that significantly
affect the lives and working conditions of our workers"
The Consul General has called on the HKSAR Government to prevent
discrimination of FDHs and allow them to exercise their rights as enshrined in the
United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of their Families and other pertinent international conventions such
as "the right to choose residence within the state of employment and liberty of
movement therein".
The Consul General also said that the prohibition of live-out arrangement is
ineffectual to attain the objective of promoting job opportunities for Local
Domestic Helpers (LDHs).
She noted that the wide gap between the salaries of FDHs and LDHs, as well as
the geographical mismatch between supply and demand as the reasons why employers are discouraged to hire LDHs. She said that amending the standard
employment contract to prohibit live-out arrangements for FDHs will therefore
not address the problem of the LDHs.
The Consul General favor the present set up where the option is left to the
employers on whether to allow their FDHs to stay-out or live-in with them,
depending on their individual preferences. She observed that since present laws
require the employers to pay for accommodation and food allowance of their
living-out FDHs, they will be the first ones to insist on their maids to stay-in with
them if such arrangement is convenient and beneficial to them.
When the former Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) submitted an
Administration paper to the Legislative Council (LegCo) sometime in October,
2001 calling for the strict enforcement of live-out arrangement as one of its
proposed measures to promote employment opportunities for LDHs, the Philippine Consulat~ General wrote to all Members of the Panel of Manpower of
the Legislative Council and the President of LegCo Ms. Rita Fan expressing
deep concern over the reported move of the LegCo to legislate the prohibition for
living out arrangements for FDHs.
In a briefing given by HKSAR labour officials on 21 March 2003, representatives
from Consulates concerned in Hong Kong were told that this issue will not pass
through LegCo anymore and instead the Immigration Department has been instructed not to accept applications from employers to arrange for their FDHs to
live-out effective 1 April 2003.
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